


Life is a Fickle Thing

by Fidget_the_Crazy



Series: Time Centric Mayhem (‘cause that’s all I ever do) [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Not my first work in this fandom but my first post on this website, Time (Linked Universe) Angst, Time is best dad. Literally., and it's hilarious, the fic chapters get longer as we go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:47:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fidget_the_Crazy/pseuds/Fidget_the_Crazy
Summary: Time has a kid, and angst ensues.
Relationships: Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time (Linked Universe)
Series: Time Centric Mayhem (‘cause that’s all I ever do) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2119353
Comments: 25
Kudos: 51





	1. Something is Lost, and Another Thing has Taken its Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time finds out something huge, but with a cost. .... you guys already know what the big reveal is, why am I trying to build this up???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to more Time angst, because Time is the only person I can write about. Oh well. Also, have your heartstrings ripped out at the very beginning, because why not! (You guys do not know how many times I’ve had to correct Time from TIme. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were still instances of it throughout the fic that I missed. Bleh.)

It was early in the morning when the child was born. 

Malon was struggling to stay awake, despite the pain that she was in. Talon was stressing over her heath and the baby would be delivered safely. The midwife was doing her best. 

The baby came without much trouble. 

Malon, sadly, didn’t wake up. 

And Time wasn’t home for over 3 months afterwards.

* * *

It was a relatively easy trek to the ranch from where they were coming from. They had stopped at Castletown to stock up on supplies and figure out if anything was terrorizing any place nearby. They didn’t hear much from the townsfolk, mainly saying that their magnificent town was safe from any threats. They cut through the vast Fields of Hyrule and made it on the path to the ranch near twilight hours. 

Time was practically buzzing with excitement! Through letters, Malon told him that she was expecting. He counted the months, and the baby should be here if he was correct. 

“Keep yourself together, Old Man,” Legend said, “you’re making me afraid that you’re gonna explode or something.”

“Hey, leave him be,” Sky chided, “If I was in his place, I’d be running home and jumping for joy.” Time could definitely relate to that at the moment. 

Excitement wasn’t the only thing that he was feeling, however. Nervousness was also very prevalent. How good of a father would he be? Would he be too neglectful? Controlling? How does one even  _ father a child?  _ Was he even ready? 

“I’m sure you’ll be a great father, Pops,” Twilight patted him on the back. 

“I hope so,” Time fidgeted, catching himself before he bit his nails. He wasn’t going to bite them! He was going to make Malon proud! 

They walked farther and reached the ranch’s property. If it was possible to not be able to stand still while also walking, then Time was doing that. 

“You know you could run ahead, gramps,” Wild encouraged, “We know the way there, we’ve been there before.”   
  
Time took off running. The other boys laughed at his eagerness to get back home. 

“I’m just excited to see what the baby will look like!” Wind exclaimed. 

“I bet that it’ll have bright red hair,” Warrior theorized. 

“I bet it will,” Twilight agreed knowingly.

Hyrule looked nervous in his silence. 

“Something the matter?” Legend asked. “You feel weird about our dad being an actual dad?”

“No,” Hyule said. “I just…” he trailed off. 

“You just…” Wind drawled.

“I’ve never seen a baby before…” he said under his breath. 

Legend’s eyes grew wide “Never?”

“Never what? What did he say?” Wind asked.

“He’s never seen a baby before!”

The boys were surprised at this statement, some voicing their surprise. 

“Really!?” Sky exclaimed. 

“I know what they are, I’ve had someone explain them to me and heard them before, but people usually just keep them inside.”

“You’ve heard a baby but never seen one?” Four inquired, eyes glinting purple in the dim light they had.

“It was being cared for in another room, probably to keep it safe.”

“Can’t even trust house guests?” 

“Not really, no.”

“That’s sad.”

“Not really. I understand why people would want to hide them, I hear they’re pretty helpless.”

They arrived on the main ranch and went for the house.

“Well, yer in for a treat!” Twilight stated. 

“I guess…” Legend muttered. “If you like loud ear piercing screams and waking up at two in the morning.”

“Don’t ruin the Traveler’s first experience with ‘em!” Twilight walked up the porch and opened the door. 

As they expected, Time was inside, cradling a little forest green bundle in his arms on an armchair. What they didn’t expect was the absence of Malon, an older man taking her place. That’s probably Malon’s father, the Old Man did mention something about her father being here. But what was truly unnerving was Time’s visage. He looked so haunted, so… hopeless. Why did he seem so wilted when he had his child in his arms? And not to mention the atmosphere; it felt solemn, sad, and mourning. As if both men in the room were grieving.

They all filed in slowly. The older man looked at Time and asked; “These the boys yer travlin’ with?” 

Time was silent for a moment. Still lost in his thoughts. “Yes.”

Hyrule was looking very intently at the bundle in Time’s arms. He noticed this and smiled sadly. 

“You want to see?” Time asked softly, his voice wavering. Hyrule nodded. He stepped closer to inspect what Time was holding to find a very very tiny human wrapped in blankets. It looked so… cute? Ugly? An ugly cute. 

“It’s so tiny…” Hyrule remarked, eyes filled with wonder. 

“Yes. He is.” Time’s voice was just above a whisper. Tears were threatening to spill. But he couldn’t cry. Not in front of his boys. 

“You guys have a name for him?” Sky asked. 

Time was silent again. “We were thinking of Keijo.” It did have a nice ring to it. 

“That’s a very beautiful name.”

“Where’s Malon?” Legend asked the forbidden question. The question that Time nor Talon wanted to answer. His throat closed up and the tears were starting to pool. Talon bowed his head. This did not bode well for the boys at all. They all knew grief when they saw it. Everything seemed to just wilt, smiles that were on the boys face vanished completely, and the mourning atmosphere became tenfold. 

“She…” Talon started. He cleared his throat, not happy to relay the grim news twice in one evening. “She’s not with us anymore.”

Time felt torn apart all over again after hearing the awful news again. The tears were spilling freely now, but he pretended they weren’t there. He had a son to raise, he had to be strong for him. For them. His sons. 

Twilight flinched, feeling hollow and empty. Wild stayed silent, staring at nothing. Legend’s jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists. Hyrule stood there dumbfounded. Wind gasped and his eyes grew wide. Warrior bowed his head in sorrowful reverence. Sky covered his mouth and teared up then and there. Four’s eyes flashed through different colors rapidly and stood still, struggling to figure out how to react.

Malon died? What caused her death? She was the sweetest person they’ve met on their journey together, and was innocent! She accepted them as her own children! Why did the goddesses have to rip happiness away from their father figure!? He never deserved any of this suffering, and neither did she deserve death! Why did she have to die!? Why Malon!? The heroes had gone through enough, why take away more!? Was there some sort of price a hero had to pay to start a family? A life for a life? If that was the case, then what was the point of even thinking about starting one if you can’t raise your child alongside your wife? 

Fours eyes finally settled on red and started to cry silently. Legend simply left the room, going outside to scream his anger out. The others walked towards Time to give him a hug, or stay by his side, while also sneaking a look at the little boy that was sleeping. Time accepted the hugs from Wind, Wild and Sky without any protest. 

They went to bed a little later than intended that night. Some of them could only sleep for an hour that night, namely Twilight and Wild. Time didn’t get any sleep. He didn’t even bother going up to his room. He stayed in the armchair weeping, cradling his son all night.


	2. Down Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time gets a day to recover, but then he's flung into chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s some fluff to make things less sad in these trying times. Wind be a big brother in this chapter, and Hyrule is drawn to fairies, and Keijo has reached “close enough” status in my eyes, so you get to have some cute! Also, this is the closest thing you ever get to me swearing. Ever. Have fun!

They all woke up lazily and tiredly the day after that emotionally draining night. They found their poor makeshift leader awake, bags under his eyes, red from crying so much. 

Wild set out to make some breakfast, while Twilight stayed by Time, to give him some reassurance that he was there to help, as did Warrior. Wind sat down on the couch with an attitude that he was patiently expecting something to be given to him. His eyes settled on the bundle in Time’s arm, who was feeding said bundle.

“May I hold him?” Wind asked quietly.

Time looked at him. “In a minute.” A part of Time did _not_ want to let his son go, as he was the only thing that was left of his wife, but he knew that his son would be safe in Wind’s arms, as he was the older brother of a sister. 

After he was done feeding the little boy, he held him close just a bit longer. He slowly went over to where Wind was sitting, simply stalling for time. Wind was patient. He held out his arms as Time gently set down the fragile baby into Wind’s hold. 

“Hey there,” Wind cooed. He was just so tiny! This was one of the upsides to being an older brother, you get to see how adorable a little newborn sibling is, even though this one wasn’t a newborn.

“Your name is Kay, right?” 

“Keijo,” Time corrected. 

“Keijo, right. How are you doing this fine morning?”

“He better be feeling safe, that’s for sure,” Warrior said. “He’s surrounded by nine heroes, what could be better than that?”

“Getting a front row view of our trauma and the **** we’re constantly dealing with,” Legend deadpanned. 

“No, Veteran!” Wild said accusingly from the kitchen, a ladle in hand. “Bad Veteran!”

As the others were telling the snarky veteran to watch his language around Keijo, Hyrule watched him very carefully. Wind caught him staring at the little hylian that he was currently holding. 

“Do you want a turn?” he asked. 

Hyrule slightly panicked. This is the second time he’s even seen a baby before and he’s being asked to hold one? Let alone _Time’s son?_ No way.

“N-no, not really,” he stammered. “I don’t think I can be trusted with one.”

Wind looked to Time for his opinion on the matter. “What do you think?”

“You’ve never held a child before, have you?” 

“No…”

Time was silent for a moment. Well, he let Wind hold him, it would probably be fair to let the others do the same.

“Sit down first.’”

Hyrule sat down nervously. Wind scooted closer to Hyrule. 

“Hold out your arms,” Wind said. Hyrule did as he was told, and Wind set the tiny hylian down. “Mind his head, he can’t support it because his neck isn’t strong enough.” he guided a hand to the baby’s head. 

Hyrule held Keijo under Time’s watchful eye. He was holding the man’s son, after all. It felt so… heartwarming. He was holding such a tiny little living creature, a helpless being. His instincts to protect seemed to thrum, along with his magic. Why his magic was drawn to this little life, he wasn't entirely sure, but it felt… content. This was definitely his brother, even if they weren’t blood related. 

“Where’s Talon?” Four asked. “I would have thought that he’d be up by now.” 

“He usually sleeps in,” replied Time. “I’m not surprised he’s not up yet.” 

Just as Time said this, the plump man stumbled down the stairs tiredly. “Did ah miss somethin’?”

“Not really,” Four answered, “we’re busy getting breakfast made and they’re squeeing over the baby.” 

“For good reason!” Twilight defended, “This right here is the cutest thing you’ll ever come across in yer life!” 

“I never said that was a bad thing, Rancher.”

“You should be proud, Gramps!” Warrior slapped Time on the back. “You have a son that’s stolen all of our hearts!”

If only Malon was there to enjoy his happiness. If only. No, he was not going to tear up. He was not. This was supposed to be a happy moment, and Malon wouldn’t want him crying and wallowing in sadness over her. Be strong, Time. Be strong. 

  
  


“I suppose I am.”

“Breakfast should be done in a little bit, can someone set the table please?” Wild called out from the kitchen. 

“I got it,” Legend said. “Let’s see if I remember where the plates and silverware are.”

Twilight looked back to the little boy still being cradled by Hyrule. The Traveler looked so content just holding him and looking. It was so sweet! 

“Hey Wild,” Twilight asked, “Are ya free for a moment?”

Wild got Sky to watch over what he was cooking and came over. “Yeah, what is it?” 

Twilight pointed to Hyrule, who was too entranced by Keijo’s gaze to pay attention to what was going on around him.

“Let me guess, you want a picture?” Wild whispered cheekily. 

“It’s a good memory to remember, and I’m sure our adventurer would like it.”

Wild took out his sheikah slate and snapped a photo. “Your welcome.” He smiled and went back into the kitchen to resume his work.

The breakfast table was rather pleasant. There was a solemn mood over the absence of a certain redhead, but then again, there was a baby in Time’s arms, so that softened the mood a bit. It seemed that Time was getting a bit of a lecture from Warrior about children. At least Time seemed to be paying attention. He’d most likely need all the advice he could get. Talon was also pitching in with advice, and Twilight remembered what it was like being the older brother to the children in his village. He smiled. Wind was also having a big brother moment, thinking about his sister. Hyrule was quiet, but happy. He got to hold a baby for the first time, and was still thinking about how special that soul was. Legend was throwing in snarking comments into War’s lecture, but also sneaking little glimpses of Keijo. Sky, Four, and Wild were listening in contently, Sky probably taking some mental notes for the future. 

After they were finished and had cleaned up, Talon assigned chores. Sky, War, and Time stayed behind to watch over Keijo. 

“It must have been pretty tough for Talon, having to run the ranch while taking care of a baby for three months,” Sky commented, currently preparing milk for Time’s son. 

“He told me he hired ranch hands, I wonder why they haven’t shown up yet,” Time answered. 

“Maybe he let them have the day off?” 

“Eh, maybe Fidget’s just lazy,” said Warrior. Hey!

Sky blanked. “What?”

“...What did I just say?”

“Whatever you said, it didn't make sense to me at all.”

“Who’s ‘Fidget’?” Time inquired. 

“I have no clue what just came out of my mouth, ignore me.”

“With pleasure.” Thanks. >:( 

* * *

It was at the end of the day the portal showed up. It was time for them to go. Well, one of them wasn’t. 

“I’m not going with you boys this time. I’m staying to raise my family.” 

There was a moment of silence. 

“I kind of expected that,” Twilight said. It still stung to be told that their father figure would be staying behind. 

“Do you think we’ll ever see you again?” Wind asked, hoping to not part with his hero. 

“I doubt it sadly. If it so happens that the portals come back and lead you here, I’d be happy to see you again.” I’d hope to see you again, too. 

“Wish you luck in raising your child and living a good life, Old man,” Four said. 

“If Hylia allows it that is,” Legend snarked. Sky smacked his arm.

Twilight came and gave Time a hug. “Live a good life fer us, Pops.” 

Time hugged him back. “No promises.”

Soon enough, all of the boys were in a group hug around their serigit father. He was going to miss his boys way too much. 

“Be safe on your journey, boys. Look out for each other.” 

“We will!” Wild claimed.

“No promises,” said Legend. 

“Don’t kill each other, then.” 

“Ehh, Can’t promise that either.”

“Be nice, Legend!” Sky chided. 

“What in Hylia’s name is ‘being nice’?”

“You boys should go. I shouldn’t keep you long.” 

The boys said their goodbyes and set out for their randomized destination. Time waved them goodbye, watching them leave two by two. He already felt so very lonely, just seeing them go without him. What else was there for him to do? 

_Go with them. Just as you said, there’s nothing better to do._

But he had a child to raise. He couldn’t just abandon Keijo and Talon like that. Besides, he wanted a peaceful life, and this was his chance. 

**_You don’t get one, Link. ¥ðµ_ ** **_ñêvêr_ ** **_Ðð._ **

He suddenly felt very woozy, stumbling to his knees as a throbbing headache overtook him. What was happening? Why now? His eyesight was fading, he was blacking out. He didn’t even feel himself hitting the ground. 

* * *

They all arrived near a lake, a very peculiar bridge hovering over it. 

“Welp,” Twilight “I know where we are.” 

Wild brought a hand to his chin. “Let me guess, yours.”

“Yep yep! We’re right at Lake Hylia.”

“It’s very pretty!” Sky exclaimed. 

“Nothing compared to my Hyrule, that’s for sure,” Wind pouted.

“No need to boast, Sailor,” Warrior ruffled his hair, “We all know that your Hyrule is a big fish bowl at this point.” That earned some laughs from the other Links. Wind was scowling. 

There was a sudden flash of light nearby. There wasn't any ringing, but it was always a good thing to be prepared for monsters. 

But what they found instead shocked and worried them to unbelievable limits. 

Here was an unconscious Time, whom they left behind and made sure didn’t follow them, his gear, armor, and adventure pouch strewn about near him. But that wasn’t what they were absolutely appalled by. 

Keijo was also there, crying on his back, the unfamiliar environment of Twilight’s Hyrule coupled with the sudden feeling of being teleported across time and space distressing the poor babe. 

The only person who could describe how they were feeling about this situation was Legend.

“Oh ****.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally figured out how to color fonts, so orange represents me breaking (entering?) the fourth wall. 
> 
> also, apparently sometimes certain characters don't show up, so I might post things here so you guys can see what it says if it doesn't show up. The messed up text does show up though, but I'm putting it here just in case too. it just says "they never do". This font is gonna show up a lot, so if it doesn't show, *please* tell me, since it's very important for you guys to read.


	3. Uh Oh.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keijo gets brought with them, panic ensues, and Time yells at the goddess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. To the people that wanted a mostly fluffy fic, I have taken that opportunity from you. We want Angst in this town!!! aaaaaand I hop from POV to POV. That’s your typical mild ADHD word vomit from me! That’s all this is, it’s just tangents and ideas taken from other people XD but enough shade thrown my own way, we want Time Angst, Keijo adorableness, and the bois being big brothers all around!

Why? 

Okay, just, WHY? 

Why in the wide world of Hyrule is Time here, away from his home? And why did Hylia think it was a good idea to let Keijo, a small, helpless three month old  _ baby,  _ along on a _ life threatening adventure!? You have a problem, you forsaken GODDESS!!!  _

Okay, okay, calm down, Legend, Hyila hates us, you already know that, but we have a problem on our hands, focus on what you can do to help right now. 

Keijo’s screaming, and Time is unconscious. 

Oh good, Twilight’s picking the kid up. He didn't have to deal with him. 

“What happened!?” War yelled. “I thought that Gramps was staying behind!”

“I think he got forced into this,” Hyrule thought out loud. “I don’t think he went through any portal, he certainly didn’t go through ours.” 

“Yeah, but why?” Wild wondered. “Why would The Old Man be forced into this adventure when he has a child to take care of? And why is said child here!? I don’t think the Old Man was holding him, was he?”

“He wasn’t. If he was at the time, that would allude to him dropping Keijo and I do  _ not  _ want to think about that,” Sky shuttered. No one wanted to think about that. Twilight was busy trying to sooth the little bundle of crying sad in his arms. 

“Should we try to wake him up?”

“Probably. I think, I don’t  _ know  _ per se, but I  _ think _ that Gramps would want to know about this.” Legend went up to Time and started prodding his shoulder with his foot. 

“Rise and shine, Old Man, we have a hero’s journey to go on and a baby to take care of!”

Time’s eyes snapped open. Yes, both of them. Legend flinched away at the sudden action, not used to seeing the scarred, completely white eye open so wide. 

“What?” they never saw Time so panicked before. He seemed to have realized that his eye was open, so he shut it once he shot up to a sitting position to take in his surroundings.

“I… I was at home just a while ago! I  _ need _ to be home! I have a son to take care of!”

“Joke’s on you, the kid’s right here,” Legend pointed to Twilight and Keijo. “Can’t you hear his distressed cries?”

Time’s ear twitched. He turned to where the crying was coming from. Surely enough, Twilight was there holding Keijo, trying to calm the poor child down. His son is here? With them? In the middle of a foreign Hyrule? Didn’t Hylia know that a  _ child was  _ **_not_ ** _ to be on a dead man’s quest? _

…unless...

No.

Keijo wasn’t a hero. He couldn’t be. His name was different from theirs. And he was only a babe. Time was young when he was called to be a hero, but he wasn’t  _ helplessly  _ young. Hylia… 

why?

Time stood up and went over to retrieve his son from Twilight. He gave him back his son without any protest, and Keijo stopped crying the moment he was held by his father. Why did this have to happen? Why? Did Hyila love to make her “beloved” heroes suffer? First Malon dies, shattering his already broken heart, and now he’s forced to continue on this forsaken journey with a three month old tagging along. It was official. His life was falling apart. 

“This can’t be happening,” he whispered, mainly to reassure himself. “Please just let this be a dream…” 

Legend’s ears flattened. 

Sky put a reassuring hand on Time’s shoulder. “We’re here for you. You don’t have to suffer alone.”

“Malon is dead,” Time listed, “Keijo will never get to know his mother, I’ve been ripped away from my home to crusade with other reincarnations of myself, and somehow Keijo has been dragged into this awful mess!” The tears were back. Great. “All I wanted was a peaceful life of raising my son alongside my wife and running the ranch, but that _forsaken_ _goddess_ decides to _completely screw me over_ by giving me the _exact opposite!_ _!_ ” The urge to just scream was so powerful. “ _WHAT DOES HYLIA WANT FROM ME!?!!?!?!?!!?_ ”

No one could answer that. Keijo whimpered at the loud sounds that came from his father.

Time laughed. It was a very sorrowful, crazed laugh. “Of course no one knows what she wants,” he said, stroking the back of his son’s head. “No one does.” 

He gave up on trying to hold the tears back. Who cares. He didn’t anymore. He’d never get a normal life, he should have accepted that a long time ago. But he was just too stubborn to do so. Now everything was slipping through the cracks. 

He felt hands wrap around his side. Hyrule was rubbing circles into his back, trying to comfort him. 

“Don’t get discouraged. I’m always willing to help my family. The rest of us will help you through this, don’t worry!”

Wind agreed. “I’ll be the best big brother that Keijo has!”

“I volunteer as the Old Man’s therapist,” Twilight announced. 

“Isn’t that  _ my _ job?” Warrior said. 

“We can tag-team.”

“There can only be ONE!”

Warrior lunged at Twilight and the two began play-fighting. Wild was looking through his slate. “I think I have some Lon Lon milk somewhere, we can use that.” He seemed to find what he was looking for. “I have more than I thought, wow.”

“Convenient,” Four commented. 

“Don’t be afraid to ask for help, Dad,” Wind said. The others laughed at the nickname. “What!? It fits now, since he’s literally  _ a dad!” _

“We get you, Kid,” Sky said, Wind scowling. 

“I guess this means I’m not the youngest anymore, huh?” Wind brightened a bit, “Will you guys finally take me seriously now!?”

“Probably not now that you ask,” Legend joked. 

“HEY!!”

“Da.” 

Silence. Everyone looked to where Time was. Keijo had placed a hand on his father’s chest. 

“Did he just say that?” Sky was inches away from squeeing.

“...He did,” Time chuckled. 

Everyone’s heart melted. 

“His voice is the cutest thing!”

Twilight chuckled and patted the Skyloltian’s shoulder.“Don’t die, Sky, there is such a thing as death by cuteness, I certainly know that.” 

“Did you die by cuteness at one point?” Wild asked. 

“When there’s an entire village of cats to befriend, you bet I did. Took me five fairies to come back.” 

“We all know that’s an exaggeration,” Legend deadpanned.

“Is it? Ya never know…” 

Time gave a sad smile. A part of him was glad that he was reunited with these boys that he grew to love. He was grateful that he could be getting some help with raising this child. … hopefully he doesn't mess it up.


	4. Protecting the Helpless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more fluff, and a poorly executed fight scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m noticing something, especially in Chapter 3. I’m hiding angst with fluff and slight crack. DON’T YOU DARE BLUE UNDERLINE ME ON THOSE, GOOGLE DOCS!!!!! >:( Anyway, do not, and I repeat, do not fight with a baby in your arms. Ever. Just don’t. Time has a bit of an excuse since he be a papa bear, but still, he's not a good example.

Keijo found his way into Sky’s arms after a while of walking down the path to Twilight’s Castletown. Even though he was supposed to be keeping his eyes on the road, the baby he was currently holding seemed to hog all of his attention. 

“You know if you can’t pay attention to where you’re going, we’ll have to revoke your Keijo holding rights,” Warrior chided. 

Sky looked at him inquisitively. “Keijo holding rights? Since when?”

“Since he joined our adventure.” 

“I’m perfectly fine holding him for longer, thank you.”

“Lucky you,” Twilight said sarcastically, “I didn’t even hold him for five minutes.”

“If this starts to become a problem, everyone’s Keijo holding rights are revoked,” Time declared. 

Warrior looked positively offended. “I haven’t even confiscated him, yet!”

“How can you revoke rights when I haven’t even touched him?” Four asked. 

“You won’t get the privilege to.”

“Fair. … well, not really.”

It was a little over seven minutes later that Keijo started to cry. 

“Oh dear,” Sky tried to sooth the child with no avail. “Wild, could you get me a bottle of milk please?” Wild was already holding one as he asked, the right lid and everything. Sky thanked him and began to feed the little one.

“Where did you even get one of those lids?” Legend asked.

“It came with the bottle I got at the time,” Wild answered. 

“You stole it, didn’t you?”

“Not from Gramps, no.”

“Why you would steal a baby bottle is beyond me, but I’m sure you have your reasons.”

“It was the only one available! No one was using it anyway, I made sure of that. I’m not that heartless.”

It seemed that Keijo was done feeding as he would turn his head away from the ¾ empty bottle, but he still cried. 

“Why are you crying, Jojo?” Sky asked as he rocked the poor baby.

Time blinked. “Jojo?” 

“It has a nice ring to it.” 

“Last time ‘Jojo’ was crying, the Rancher gave him back to the Old Man, and he stopped the moment he was held close,” Hyrule pointed out. “Try that.”

“Or he could be needing a cloth change,” Wind suggested.

Legend threw his hands up in a surrendering manner. “I’m not dealing with that.” 

“I expected you not to, seeing how experienced you are with kids and this one isn’t yours anyway,” Warrior snipped. Legend sputtered.

Sky gave the child back to his father. And just as Hyrule predicted, Keijo stopped crying the moment Time got his hands on him. 

“Huh,” Four’s eyes were glinting purple with intrigue. “He doesn’t cry while in the arms of his father. A bit expected I suppose, but I would have thought that he would have been more familiar with Talon than you, seeing as he was taking care of him the longest.”

Time felt a bit of a pang in his heart. He really should have been home sooner. “One would think that, wouldn’t they? I suppose he feels this pull towards me.” Like a Kokiri to his Guardian Fairy, or vice versa. Hm…

“I’m not entirely surprised,” Legend said, “I felt something similar when-” he cut himself off, realizing he was telling things about himself. 

“When what happened?” Warrior drawled, “did you meet your long lost twin brother?” 

“I…” that wasn't that far from the truth, actually. All you had to do was gender bend and make her the princess. “I met a relative I didn’t know I had is all.”

“You’re not telling us the full story, are you?” 

“That’s none of your guy’s business, especially not yours, Captain!”

**_Ring Ring Ring_ **

Oh no.

Legend groaned. “Well perfect! We get to fight a bunch of monsters while Pops over here is holding a  _ baby _ !”

"Rancher, Veteran, Sailor stay with the Old Man! The rest of us let's clear them out!"

Time held his crying son close, hunching down, attempting to shield him from the onslaught. Twilight and Legend kept at his side. The rest of the boys kept to the outside, keeping the monsters as far away from Time as possible. Time unsheathed his gilded sword just in case he needed it. 

A Stalfos found its way into the inner circle and set its glowing eyes on Keijo. Legend went in to distract it, to bring its focus to himself, but the monster had its target set. Legend tried to keep the Stalfos away from Time as best as he could, and he did well, but the Stalfos wss getting too close for comfort. Time took a defensive position and got ready to fight back if need be. The Stalfos tried to strike but Time parried it away. It then slashed at an angle, which Time tried to move away from, but the blade was way  _ way  _ too close. It grazed the child’s blanket, leaving a small tear in it. 

**_NO._ **

Time went on the full offensive, overwhelming the Stalfos with Legend’s help until it was turned into dust. The other monsters were being picked off by the other heroes, keeping the rest away, Time having to pitch in here and there. 

The monsters were eventually cleared away, and Twilight set out to scout for more monsters. Time checked over his son, making sure he wasn’t hurt. 

Warrior walked up to the Eldest Hero, looking at the bundle going through inspection. “Is Keijo alright?” 

“We had a close call,” Time said, a bit softer in voice. 

Warrior’s eyes widened. “What?” 

Wind’s ears perked up and rushed over. “Is Keijo hurt!?” 

“He better not be,” Wild looked like he was ready to fight again, “If he is, all the monsters in every single Hyrule better be running for someplace to hide!”

Looks like he triggered multiple big brother instincts. He was okay with that. 

“He came out of the fight unscathed, fortunately. The blanket didn’t fare so well, however.” Time showed Warrior the rip in the blanket Keijo was swaddled in.

“At least it didn’t cut any deeper, it would have caught his leg if it did,” Warrior commented. 

Legend inspected his blade. “Then I’d have to kill hylia.” 

“Veteran, no,” one could hear the appalled shock in Sky’s voice. 

“Veteran,  _ yes _ .” That grin was horrifying with the context.

“Let’s not do this now guys,” Hyrule scolded, “focus on Jojo first!”

“That’s really becoming a nickname, isn’t it?” Time offered War a chance to hold Keijo, which he accepted with contained excitement. 

“Well, any other nicknames you have in mind?”

Time paused for a moment. Either coming up blank with one, or too embarrassed to say. He then opened his mouth, the name said quietly, as if he were a shy child telling his parents what he would name his beloved pet if he got one. 

“Little Fae…” 

There was silence among the links. The only thing making sound was the ambiance of the forest and Keijo, who was currently tugging on Warrior’s scarf. 

“Little Fae, huh?” Legend repeated, “Seems fitting.”

“I can’t possibly use that name,” Four stated, “that’s yours to use, and yours only.”

“Yeah,” Sky chimed in, “that’s a name reserved for a father.”

As much as a sweet moment this was, Time was still worried for his child, even more worried than he was previously. What if they were pitted up against worse enemies, worse pairings? He can’t just leave Keijo someplace, he’d be found by the monsters if he really was a target by what he saw from the Stalfos that came at him. And it would be harder for him to hold Keijo while fighting, and he didn’t want to risk something happening while in the arms of someone fighting. Of course he could keep two links with him as he shields the child away, but then again, they did that for this fight, and he still had to defend himself and the kid. They’d have to have a battle plan set up around this. Multiple if needed. 

They needed to get moving soon. If they want to get to an inn, better get going now. 


	5. Brotherly Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys talking and being brothers, and a terrible discovery is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The return of the ADHD tangents! I also have a bit of a habit of adding angst at the end of each chapter, so there’s that. Oh well. But I’m especially proud of this particular ending!

It was in the late afternoon, early evening that they arrived at Castletown, Keijo asleep in Twilight’s arms. It took some time to get Warrior to give the child up, but it seemed that one who wasn’t Time couldn’t hold him for more than an hour before he would cry for his father. 

“We should probably get something to carry him in,” Wind suggested, “Like a little backpack!” 

“Nah, we’ll just drop him in one of our adventure pouches, it’ll be fine,” Legend joked. 

Wind brought a hand to his chin, almost mischievously. “Does anyone have an extra they’re not using…?”

“I was kidding, Sailor!”

“Hey, that idea doesn’t sound half bad!”

“I don’t know,” Twilight said, “Once we plop him in one of our bags we may not find him again.” Legend snickered. 

Time slowly turned his head to Twilight. “Rancher, I’m already paranoid enough, don’t do that to me.”

Wild struggled to keep himself from laughing out loud. 

“I have a good reason!”

“You do, but still!” 

Four jumped in to refocus the confederation. “Anyway, about getting a backpack?” 

Twilight seemed to get an idea. “I remember on my journey, my companion was small enough to fit in my hat, and sometimes I would wear it like a hood. Maybe we could get something like that.”

“So like if you put Keijo in Smith’s hood?” Wind looked to the smallest hero. 

“Yeah, kind of like that.”

“I’ll see if I can find something like that then,” Time replied, “Let’s find an inn first before we go shopping.” 

“I know a place,” Twilight said, “I’ve been there before.”

He led the group to Links down the crowded paths to the inn he told them about. They were told the room they were staying in, and were assigned shopping lists for supplies. However, they forced Time to stay behind to watch over Keijo. 

“I can still shop with him in my arms,” he rebutted, “Why do I have to stay behind?”

“To give you some father-son time!” Wind explained. 

They left it at that, and left him in the room he, Four and Sky were staying in with Keijo. He looked at his son. His son blinked at him with baby blue eyes.

“Well, now what?”

Keijo grabbed his nose.

* * *

  
Wind and Twilight were together for stalking up more ammunition and a hood to carry Keijo in. They prioritized the arrows first, then went to a place that Twilight thought would have something that they thought would work. 

“It doesn’t matter what color it is, does it?” Wind asked.

“I’m mainly goin’ for practicality,” Twilight replied, “if we find somethin’ that the Old Man would like, then that’s a plus.”

Wind nodded, okay with the plan. They eventually found a place where they could find something similar to what they all had in mind. As they looked, Wind found something that struck him as something Time would either love or hate. 

It was a type of pouch one could wear on the front or back, and had horse embroidery on one of the corners.

They both knew who it would remind him of. 

“What do you think?” Wind asked warily, “you think he’d like this?”

Twilight inspected the pouch. “I… don’t know. I don't think he’d hate it, but it would probably make him reminiscent or somethin’ similar.”

“I kinda like it…” 

Twilight smiled sadly. “I do too.”

Time wouldn’t get too emotional over this, would he?

* * *

  
They came back to the inn room to Time playing with his son. It was a very heartwarming thing to see, a very stoic and aloof man being so sweet with a small infant. It felt almost forbidden to interrupt such a cute moment. 

“So we got more arrows and a pouch,” Twilight had related to the elder hero, “We also figured that we’d need a burp cloth as well.”

Time nodded his head in approval. “Thank you for running errands. I’ll need to feed him again soon, so that burp cloth will be useful, thank you.” 

“Yeah,” Wind looked down at the pouch he was holding. 

Time looked to what Wind fidgeted with. “May I see?” His ear became captive to Keijo’s hands and teething gums. He didn’t mind.

Wind and Twilight tensed. How would he react to something that may remind him of her? Would he burst into tears? Would he get mad at them? Would they get the stare of disapproval? Well, there’s not a good way to back out of this now, might as well find out. 

Wind stepped over and showed Time what he held. The front of the cloth was visible, the embroidery and everything. Wind could tell that Time saw it. His face fell. He slowly stepped forward and held the corner that had the stitched horse. His eyes portrayed his sadness, memories of his beloved wife flooding his mind. He remembered how much he missed her. The dread of never getting to see her again, to hold her again. He didn’t notice the single tear that rolled down his cheek as he rubbed his thumb across the embroidery. 

He smiled sadly. “You boys did this on purpose, didn’t you?”

Wind looked at the ground, his ears drooping in guilt. “We didn’t really know how you’d react, but it reminded us of her, too.”

“It’s perfect.” Time let go of the fabric and turned his attention to the little boy gnawing on his ear. It didn’t hurt, they were gentle bites, but it was starting to get annoying. He was lucky that his child didn’t inherit the sharp teeth of the kokiri, his ear would probably be a mangled mess by now if it was. 

The others came back into the room at their own times, seeing their unofficial leader being playfully attacked by his son stealing their hearts. 

“So our plan tomorrow is to check in with the queen to see if anything alarming has been happening, yeah?” Warrior asked.

“Twilight and someone else can check in, while we ask around town?” Legend pitched in his idea.

“That seems like an okay idea,” Warrior commented. “However, do we have Time stay behind again, let someone else stay with him, or switch him out with someone else?”

“We could rotate,” Wild offered, “I’m assuming we’d spend the better part of the day trying to figure out what’s wrong with this Hyrule, so we could have Pops stay behind first, someone else switch out a later time, then another Link take that other one’s place?” 

“I like that idea. What do you think, Old Man?” 

Time nodded his head in approval, Keijo deciding that his nose was too interesting to not grab for the fourth time. He gently pried his tiny hand away from his nose, said hand opting for his ear. “We’re going to have to feed you soon, Little Fae.”

Wild started searching for milk in his sheikah slate. 

“I think it’d be a good thing to know that Keijo’s teething, Cook.”

Wild looked up from his search. “Your ears must be in pain, then.” 

“It doesn’t hurt that much, actually. He’s being surprisingly gentle.”

“We can probably start giving him soft foods now. Do you want the milk, or something that I can mash up?”

“I'll stick with the milk for tonight, thank you.”

* * *

Time lay with Keijo, his son sleeping peacefully next to him on the bed, yet Time himself fully awake. It wasn’t a sleep night for him, as three days had not passed yet. He would admit that his sleep schedule was messed up, but he had a parallel world to thank for it.  _ Just four more hours until sunrise…  _ he thought to himself.  _ Just one more night… _

Malon entered his mind. He thought of the last time he saw her. She was waving goodbye to them all as they left the ranch. Before that, she was hugging him close, stealing kisses from him one last time. Before that, she was commenting on how the boys felt like sons to her, brought up by their conversation about having children of their own. How sad, that that dream of having a child would be bastardized by his wife’s death. His dear, sweet Mavourneen, that helped him through his darkest hours, helped him cope with his troubled, traumatic past, kept him from giving up hope. But now that light in his life was extinguished by the darkness. He felt betrayed, if he could be betrayed again. The warmth of the simple life seemed to become cold and harmful, bringing up once sweet memories, only to have turned sour. But what was this little infant that was sleeping next to him? A new light? A new recourse of hope? Was his life full of darkness yet again, not able to see the sun again? 

No. He wasn’t going to give up, he couldn’t. He was a father, and as a father, he had the responsibility of raising his child. Raising him in a shifting world that is out to get him and the rest of the boys he found himself traveling with, yes, but he can still enjoy the things his son brings, like the smiles, the laughs, and even the capturing of his nose and ears. Yes. This was a new light in his life. He couldn’t tell if it was dimmer than the last, but he still appreciated it. He knew that this new light would sometimes feel like a curse in the later years, but he’d take the few blessings he can get his hands on. 

He caressed his son’s cheek, he twitched at the touch of his father’s calloused hand, and shuttered a breath out. This boy really was a sweet, innocent child, he prayed that Hylia wouldn’t find him and force him to walk the cruel path of the hero.

But that’s just what Hylia was; cruel.

He really shouldn't have been surprised when he saw the glowing yellow mark on the baby’s little hand. He should not have been so hopeful for his child’s life to be full of pure bliss. Knowing his own track record, he knew that was always impossible. But here he was, eyes wide, on the verge tears again. Seems that he’d be crying throughout the night a _second_ time. Oh how he hated the cards he was dealt. The goddess really hated him back, didn’t she? He supposed that this journey that he was on was going to serve as his own adventure, but _this_ _young?_ Couldn't that awful deity at least be patient if she were going to make him a hero? Just wait until he was at least in the double digits, preferably in his late teens! Not a FREAKING _INFANT!!!_ The most he’d be once he’d finish this adventure would be 2 years old, from his estimates. Now _that’s_ an astounding record to break. 

Keijo whimpered. Time wiped at the tears rolling down his face and scooted closer to the poor child. Keijo’s head turned towards him and his eyes opened. His tiny hand pawed at him, whimpering again. 

“Don’t like it when I cry, do you?” Time whispered. Fat tears welled up in his son’s eyes, and he whimpered louder. 

Time sat up and brought the poor babe close, soothing him with soft shushes. He thought of singing his wife’s song. But he knew he wouldn’t be able to make the first stanza without choking up. So he opted to hum the Goron's Lullaby instead. Keijo’s eyes started to close and he fell asleep right away after he finished. He felt awful, his child forced to endure a tremendous burden, all because his father was a hero of Hyrule. If he were someone else’s child, he wouldn’t need to worry about survival and saving the world from evil. He would have a carefree life, parents who loved him, and would not drag him along on a crusade.

“I’m so sorry, Little Fae,” he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For how the baby bag works, I’m thinking like how the Mandolorian holds the Child in that satchel, only there’s holes for baby limbs to go through.


	6. Gathering Intelligence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twilight and Warrior get some information, Wind sings a lullaby, and lots of blinking happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find it hilarious how the chapters are getting longer and longer. I used to try and keep them a certain length, but I’ve practically thrown that out the window at this point, especially with the later chapters. Heh. Nevertheless, enjoy Keijo being a gremlin baby at 6 in the morning. Parents always love that! O_O also, I may or may not have shoehorned in “Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy” into this chapter as a lullaby. That a pirate sings no less. How that works, I do not know, and I still don’t know how I feel about it.

Time eventually found something to do with his hands as he waited for the morning to arrive. It was exactly six in the morning when Keijo woke up crying again. Time grabbed the bottle that was next to the bed and picked up the distressed boy. Keijo accepted the bottle but still seemed sad for some reason even as he was being fed. 

Four sat up and rubbed his eyes. Time should have expected that. 

“What time is it?” The Smith asked.

“It’s nearly six-o-two,” Time replied. 

Four blinked. Sky yawned and sat up from his bundle of blankets. 

Four blinked again, this time in shock. He turned back to Time, who was finished feeding Keijo. “That kid could make a good alarm clock if this is a repetitive thing.”

Time looked back down at his child, not sure if he liked that idea. He shrugged. He put the burp cloth that Wind and Twilight bought over his shoulder and started patting Keijo on the back. Even after that, Keijo still cried. What was wrong? Sky came over to see what he could do to help, but Keijo still cried. 

“Look on the bright side,” Four encouraged, “he isn’t screaming bloody murder.”

“Thank Hylia for that,” Time sighed, “If he was, the Veteran would probably be strangling the both of us.”

“That makes me wonder,” Sky pondered, “if he woke me up, then are the others awake?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I sure hope Vet is sleeping through this, else we’re screwed.”

Meanwhile in the room to their right, Legend was wide awake, as he woke up at an earlier hour and couldn’t go back to sleep. And he heard everything. The moment Keijo started to cry, he went to the wall that the cries were coming from and stayed there, his ear close to the barriers separating the heroes. 

He saw Wild wake up, and waved at him. Wild freed his hands so he could sign, to be considerate of Warrior sleeping in the next bed over.  _ “Keijo being a gremlin in the room over?” _

Legend nodded. “Yeah, and sounds like someone is talking behind my back, too.” He smirked to show it wasn’t the bad type. 

Wild covered his smile with a hand. 

Legend knocked on the wall gently. “I was already awake, it’s fine.”

All three heroes stopped what they were doing and turned slowly to the wall. 

“Speak of the devil,” Four commented. 

“Hi Veteran,” Sky greeted, “Is anyone awake in there?” 

“The Cook is, if the Captain is, he hasn't shown it yet.” 

“I’m awake,” said Captain clarified, “I just want to stay warm.”

“Nevermind, everyone’s awake in here.”

“I didn’t think you were the type to want to stay in bed because you were cold outside the covers,” Wild teased. 

Warrior propped himself on his elbows, and stared groggily at Wild. “I just woke up, and there’s a baby crying next store. I just want a few more minutes in please.”

Wild whipped out his sheikah slate.

“Don’t you dare!”

“It’s 6:11. That’s around the usual time we wake up.” 

Warrior blinked. 

“Thought I was gonna take a picture of you?”

Warrior blinked again. 

The sheikah slate chimed, the sound it made when a photograph was taken. 

“Why you!!!!” 

“There’s people sleeping, Cap!” Legend tried to remind, but Warrior was already out of his bed and tackling Wild. 

In the other room, Twilight woke up, his big brother instincts instantly kicking in. He looked over to Wind and Hyrule, both sleeping soundly, and debated going to the next room over to see if he could help with the poor child. 

Then the crying stopped. 

Everything went silent. 

Time was surprised, he cried for 15 minutes straight. Down to the millisecond. His child must have inherited his cursed internal clock. 

Sky sat next to Time. “I wonder what happened.”

“Like I said, he’s alarm clock material if this is repetitive,” Four pointed out yet again. There was a knock on the door. Four went to open it, to find Twilight on the other side of the door. 

“Is Keijo okay?”

“Seems okay now,” Legend closed the door behind him, “he was crying for 15 minutes straight then just stopped.” 

“Do we know why?”

“No,” Four replied, “are the Sailor and Traveler awake?”

“No, they ain’t. I should probably go back.” 

Wild and Warrior tumbled out of the room, still shoving each other playfully. 

Legend shushed them, “I already told you, people are sleeping!”

“Like we care,” Wild snarked, “who knows, everyone in this inn may be morning people!”

Legend rolled his eyes. He stepped aside so they could enter the middle room. 

“How is the little one?” Warrior walked up to the bundle Time was holding. 

“I’m not sure what was wrong,” Time replied, “I fed him, but he was still upset over something, I’m not sure what.”

Wild started looking through his sheikah slate, trying to find something for breakfast for everyone. 

Once breakfast was situated and everyone was fed, they reviewed the plan, and set out, Twilight and Warrior going to consult with the queen and the others to ask around. Time was once again left behind. 

* * *

Twilight led the way to the castle, knowing that he’d likely be granted access. After some trouble with the guards, they were finally granted audience with the queen.

Once they entered the throne room, Warrior kneeled. Twilight was at a loss for what to do, since he knew the queen as an acquaintance, but not that well, so he kneeled as well. 

“There’s no for that,” Zelda said, “Rise.”

The two heroes stood and Twilight stepped forward. “Permission to speak, your highness?”

Zelda seemed a bit confused as to why he would ask for permission, but let him speak. 

“I have been travelin’ with other warriors to find any suspicious activity. We were hopin’ that we could get guidance from you, seeing as you are the ruler of this country.” 

Zelda though for a moment. “There have been reports of monster attacks in small villages on the outskirts, and some places having crop failure and reports of people going missing. I assume that you’re willing to help with those problems?”

“Yes yer highness. We will see them taken care of.”

“There is something else you may want to be aware of, Link. There have been sightings of a figure shrouded in darkness in some places. The most recent one being in the Eldin province.”

“We could look near Kakariko first then.” Warriors spoke up, his inner captain waking up. “You said there were monster attacks in the outskirts?”

“Yes, I did.”

Warrior turned to Twilight. “We could start looking in Kakariko and then go from there?”

“We could do that,” Twilight replied. 

“If there is anything you need,” Zelda told the heroes, “I would be happy in assisting you in any way.” 

“I’m sure that we’ll be able to handle ourselves, but thank you for yer offer.” Twilight bowed and asked for permission to leave. Zelda accepted and bid them luck on their journey. As the two heroes left, she frowned. She knew that they were in more danger than they thought. 

* * *

Wind and Hyrule tag teamed taking care of Keijo after their two hour time limit was up until they had to swap with Time. He lightly teased them for being six minutes late, and told them what he did and didn't do yet for the child, threatened them to not get into trouble, and left them to their devices. Yes, they had the power to do some very gremlinesk things, like teach the unsuspecting child vulgar language, but they knew better than that. Wind was a big brother after all, and he was more responsible than that. The both of them saw little Jojo as their baby brother, and they both agreed that even though they were on a dangerous adventure, he should keep his innocence for as long as he can. 

Keijo was currently on the ground, Wind coaxing him to roll over onto his back. 

“You can do it, Jojo!” He cheered, “you can make it!” He prodded Keijo’s side gently to encourage him. Both could tell he was trying, and Hylia dang it (there are children present, Wind), he was going to achieve this milestone!

Hyrule was watching this epic test of strength and endurance from the sidelines, when he spotted a glowing yellow spot on Keijo’s hand. Wind seemed too preoccupied to notice. Hyrule moved closer to inspect this anomaly that found its way onto the little baby’s hand. 

And what an anomaly it was. 

The Triforce of courage. On the back of a baby’s hand. Excuse himself, but  _ what? _ He didn’t think that this was a hereditary thing, it shouldn’t be, right? Most of the heroes were not blood related, so why would he have it? He’s not even old enough to walk yet! Maybe being on an adventure such as this one required the Triforce? Maybe? Sort of? 

His thoughts were interrupted by Keijo rolling over onto his back, with a little help from Wind. He did need some training before he could properly do it by himself. 

“Yay!” Wind cheered, “good job!”

“Hey, Sailor?” Hyrule asked, “did you notice something on his hand?”

“No?”

“...I think he has the Triforce.”

Wind’s countenance dropped from a happy expression to one of shock.

_ “What?” _

Wind grabbed Keijo’s left hand and looked at the back. Sure enough, there it was. Three very tiny triangles, the rightmost one glowing brightest. 

“Gramps is gonna be  _ pissed  _ when he finds out about this.” 

Keijo freed his hand from Wind’s grasp and looked to Hyrule and reached his arms out to him. Hyrule picked up the boy without thought. 

“What, you don’t love me?” Wind semi-fake pouted, “even after all of that time I spent with you? How uncaring!” He wiped a fake tear from his eyes. 

“You’re starting to act like the Captain,” Hyrule teased.

“So what if I am?” 

“We don’t want you to get all flirty with the girls or try to go out drinking illegally, do we?”

“Flirting is for lovesick ninnyhammers, and one day, I’ll be able to drink legally, you’ll see!”

“I don’t think we’d still be a group together for that.” 

A beat of silence passed. They didn’t want to think about that inevitable day. 

Keijo started to fuss. Had it been an hour already? They fed him and changed him recently, so they knew what he was crying about. 

“Aw….” Wind shushed Keijo, “don’t worry, you dad’s coming back soon, it’s okay!”

Hyrule held the poor boy closer, to give him reassurance that there are people there for him. “Do you know any lullabies?” 

“I can try something, but I don’t know if it will work.” 

He started humming a very soothing tune, his voice seemed to echo the waves of the sea, but it spoke of lulling, still calm. 

_ Brightly beams our father’s mercy  _

_ from his lighthouse ever more,  _

_ But to us he gives the keeping  _

_ of the lights along the shore.  _

It certainly felt like a lullaby. Keijo seemed to still be fussy, but his crying toned down in volume a bit. That was a good sign! 

_ Dark the night of sin has settled; _

_ While the angry billows roar. _

_ Eager eyes are watching, longing, _

_ For the lights along the shore. _

_ Trim your feeble lamp my brother; _

_ Some poor sailor tempest tossed, _

_ Trying now to make the harbor, _

_ In the darkness may be lost. _

If this song wasn’t working on Keijo, it was certainly working on Hyrule. He kept himself focused on holding the sniffling baby and supporting his head. 

_ Let the lower lights be burning;  _

_ send a gleam across the wave. _

_ Some poor fainting, struggling seaman, _

_ you may rescue, you may save. _

“Where did you learn that song?” Hyrule asked, trying to keep himself from closing his eyes and drifting off. 

“My grandma used to sing that to Aryll and I when we were very young,” Wind answered. “It’s a very nice tune, and something I keep close to me. I used to hum it during scary moments to calm myself down.”

“It’s a very nice song.” 

“It is.” 

The door opened and Time entered the room. Keijo’s fussing started to act up, his chubby arms reaching for his father. 

“How was he?” Time asked. He took Keijo from Hyrule who was a bit sad that he couldn’t hold the baby longer, but didn’t complain.

“He was okay,” Wind replied, “he just barely started to cry before you came in. He also rolled over with some help!”

“You nudged him, didn’t you?”

“Hey, he needs practice!”

Time smiled and looked at Keijo. “Did you behave, Little Fae?”

Keijo touched his right cheek. “Da.”

Time chuckled. “That’s right.” His scarred eye started getting petted by little hands. 

“Is my eye weird? Huh?”

Keijo bonked him with his forehead. Now that was adorable. Wind giggled. 

“We’re probably gonna have to go out again,” Hyrule lamented. 

Wind wilted a little. “Legend and Sky are next, right?”

“Yes they are,” Time reaffirmed. “I’ll put my faith in them remembering what time they have to get here.”

“Next time we run into them we can remind them.”

“Be nice about it.”

“We will! Have fun here, and don’t die!”

“I plan to.” 

Wind looked back at Time wide eyed. “Excuse me?”

Time blinked. He then realized what he said. “I meant having fun! I didn’t mean the latter! I don’t plan to do that!” 

Wind nodded, still staring at him shocked. “Okay.”

“See you guys later.” 

Soon after the two youngsters left, Twilight and Warrior came back into the room.

“Any news?” Time asked.

“There have been monster attacks in the outskirts, and suspicious activity in other small places,” Warrior reported, “The most suspicious being in the Eldin province.” 

“Anything specific we’re looking for?” 

“The Shadow. It’s been causing trouble like missing persons and crop failure.”

“People are going missing? I suppose that’s expected, but that’s still disturbing.”

“Yes. This being, whatever it is, is starting to get more brave.”

“We planned on headin’ towards Kakariko,” Twilight explained, “then if we don’t see anythin’ there, we can look in other places in that area.” 

“Seems fine to me,” Time said, “you’re the one that’s the most familiar with this place.” 

“How’s Keijo been?” 

“He’s been all smiles lately, still cries when I’m gone for longer than an hour.” 

“Is that right, Jojo?” Warrior tickled his cheek, “are you a happy boy?” Keijo smiled and cooed, seeming to give Warrior an answer. 

“Your son is stealing everyone’s hearts, Old Man.”

“I know. Mine is probably not retrievable at this point.”

“Wait until he reaches his terrible twos, Twilight playfully warned, “you’ll definitely be able to find it again.” 

“Oh, don’t remind me.” They both knew that he wouldn’t ever trade his son for anything. 

“Did anyone else get any information?”

“The Sailor and Traveler heard about The Shadow in Eldin, but that would be about it. We could try and round them back up again, but knowing us, that may be impossible.” 

“We’ll let ‘em come back on their own time.”

Time gave a wary smile. “I don’t think I trust the cub enough for that.” 

Twilight chuckled. “Good point.”

There was another knock at the door. Wild and Four showed up early. Well that solved their problem. 

“We saw those two and figured that they had an answer,” Wild said, “We didn’t get much besides ‘crops are having a hard season’, or stuff like that.” 

“We do have an answer for that, yes,” Warrior said, “we’ll discuss it once the others get back.” 

“I can call the Sailor back.”

“Go ahead and do that,” Time affirmed, “we’ll have to wait until Legend and Sky come back, they are on a time limit after all.” 

Four noticed how Keijo nibbled on his father’s ears. “Does that hurt?” 

“Actually no,” was Time’s answer, “he is teething, but he’s pretty gentle.”

“Do you think we could get something for him to bite on? He does need to strengthen his gums.” 

“That would be wise, wouldn’t it?” His nose was being stolen again.

Wild looked through his slate and pulled out a bone horn of some kind. “You think he could chew on this?”

“What is it?” Twilight asked, skeptical of Wild’s logic. 

“It’s a lizalfos horn. I don’t have anything else that he can chew on that he won’t accidentally swallow.”

An idea seemed to pop into Time’s head. “Do you know what skulltula tokens are?” 

Heads shook and ‘no’s were heard. 

“There were these golden skulltulas that would leave these curse breaking tokens about the size of my hand. I ended up finding more after my journey, so I have extra that he can bite.”

Time reached for his bag after offering Four to hold Keijo. Four took the child with hesitation, but the little smiling baby grew on him. A red heart fawned over the baby, expressing how cute he was by smiling. Violet eyes analyzed the little happy bundle curiously. Blue hands, while hesitant to hold him at first, were holding him gently but firmly, promising to protect this child. A green voice hummed with adoration for the baby. 

Time dug through his bag, taking some other things out of it to find what he was looking for. He pulled out this little gold disk that was skull shaped, about the size of his hand. 

“And how many of those do ya got?” Twilight asked. 

“Not a whole lot,” Time replied, “after I collected the amount I needed to break someone else’s curse, I didn’t encounter them as often.” 

Wind and Hyrule came back into the room. 

“What’s the news?” Hyrule inquired. 

“We’ll say once Legend and Sky come back,” Warrior stated.

Wind looked inquisitively at the gold token that Time was holding. “What’s that?” 

“Something for Keijo to chew on,” Time answered, “At least, that’s the plan.”

They waited there until Legend and Sky came back into the room, Sky looking exhausted. 

“You okay there, Lover Boy?” Warrior asked, a near teasing lilt to his voice. 

“How do you keep up with this city life?” The poor Chosen Hero asked. “It’s so crowded, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in one place before!” 

Twilight laughed, “I usually don’t! Remember, I’m from down south, I’m not exactly used to the big city either. If anythin’, the Old Man’s castle town fits more my speed.” 

“Wimps,” accused Warrior, “if none of you guys can handle city life like this, you’d die when you get to mine.”

“Not all of us are used to havin’ so many people surround us, Captain. I get that city life can be appealin’, but it can be a bit too much fun for some people.” 

“My point still stands.” 

“About us being wimps or us dying?” Legend asked. 

“Both.”

“Good to know.”

“Trying to veer the topic to something more important,” Four said, “what did Zelda tell you two?”

The two explained what the queen told them, about the shadow, and the havoc that it and other monsters were causing. 

Four looked thoughtful, nearly reminiscent. Keijo was asleep on his shoulder, not giving a care in the world about what they were having to deal with. “So we’re heading to Kakariko then?” 

“We are,” Twilight answered, “we’re startin’ there first then going from there.”

“Hmm. Well, that's a good start.” Violet turning magenta eyes flicked over to the baby he was holding. “Do you want him back, sir?”

“I would, thank you.” Four gently handed his son back to him. They planned to get out to Kakariko as soon as they could, they prepared some lunch, fed and changed Keijo, and soon enough, they were on the road to Kakariko. 

They never noticed the shadowy figure that followed them. It kept it’s eyes on the baby that the Hero of Time held in his arms. 


	7. Lost Treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sky feels responsible for the hardships of the others, and something precious is stolen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I had an entire thing that I wanted to add that referenced two other fics, but that ended up being a bonus chapter instead out of consideration. It also would have taken a huge jab at another fic that I really don’t care if I reference anywhere, since it’s so infamous. But either way, have some Time and a little bit of Sky indulging in some sad! And then add some more angst to that! ‘Cause this ending…. heheheheh… oh this ending, oh boy…

Time was dozing off in one of the fields at his home. He liked it there, of course. Who wouldn’t? It was peaceful, homey, and although there was always work to be done around the ranch, it was perfect for him. He was a former hero that was used to backbreaking-- mind breaking in some cases -- work, and working with his hands like this was a good way to help with the urge to do something. The urge to adventure, however, would still come in bouts, and he would leave on little excursions, promising his beautiful wife that he would come home. But now, he had no need for that. He was always on an adventure with his new child, and he would never abandon his new family. 

He saw his Mavourneen walking up to where he was, holding their son. He sat up and smiled at the both of them. Malon sat next to him, and leaned against his side. He wrapped an arm around her and held her close, taking a peek at their perfect son. Keijo smiled back up at him, the smiley little happy boy he was. His life was perfect. He was in heaven, wasn’t he? He never wanted this to end. 

Then his eye opened. 

He was in the middle of the forest at night, surrounded by eight other men. 

Right. His life wasn’t perfect at all. hylia hated him.

…

Wait, where was Keijo?

He sat up, looking for his son, and he found him closest to the person on watch, who was Sky. 

“Is he alright?” Time asked. 

Sky smiled. “Fast asleep, sir.” 

Time nodded. 

He lay back down on his bedroll. His arms felt empty. He couldn’t wait to see Malon again, to hold her in his arms, to give her kisses, tell her how much he loved her. 

… 

...hylia really hated him, didn’t she? He’d never see her again. Never. She was dead. hylia took her from him. she  _ killed  _ her. That’s what it felt like. He was sure that if there was an afterlife, she would be in heaven. He doubted he’d ever get there. Why would he? He’d done too many things that would keep him from getting there. Oh, great the tears were coming back. He should have known that she was too good for him, that he didn’t deserve her.

He let himself cry silently, there was nothing better for him to do. Her death was out of his hands, and he had swore off the Song of Time. He wouldn’t play it again. He has to live with what life throws at him. He won’t tap out. He won’t. 

Sky must have heard his nearly silent weeping (those trickey ears of his) because he felt a hand be placed on his shoulder. 

“Bad dreams?” The Skyloftian softly asked. Time nodded. 

“Are you comfortable telling me about it?” 

“I miss her,” Time weeped. “I miss her so much, I want her back. I wish that she were still alive, that she could see our son. Why did hylia have to take her away?”

“I can’t be sure, I’m not Hylia.”

“If you say ‘it builds character’, I’m going to hit something.”

Sky chuckled. “Why do you think this happened?” 

“Because hylia hates me. She ripped my childhood away from me, sent me off at a way too young age to save an entire country, she forced me into an older body and skewed my view of it and adulthood, and let me get wrapped up in a completely different world, just because I wanted to find a friend. she’s the reason why I hate talking about my childhood, because I didn’t have one. she’s never been kind to me. Now do you see why I don’t like that sword you carry? It wasn’t kind to me either. If I was too young and had to be aged up through time, then why did hylia choose a nine year old in the first place?” 

Sky was taken aback. He had his adventures when he was  _ nine?  _ He was forced to time travel? No wonder he disliked Hylia! … but this wasn’t the one that he was familiar with. His Zelda was Hylia reincarnated, and she would never put someone through that for reasons outside of the only way to defeat Demise, would she? He went out of his way to save her, keep her from harm, and she did feel bad for having him go through all of those trials. Why did Time, and all the rest of these heroes for that matter, have to suffer so much? Sky hugged the elder hero close and rubbed circles into his back. This poor poor man. He never got to grow up properly. 

And it was most definitely Sky’s fault. 

Ever since hearing about Ganon, he pieced the puzzle together. Demise’s hatred came back, over and over again, and these good men had to pay the price for it. He could have just killed Demise right then and there before the curse was uttered, right? He only let him get sealed away. He could have stopped this. Then Time would have lived a proper childhood, and grown up happy. 

“You're putting yourself down, aren't you?”

Sky looked back to Time. “You have that look in your eyes. What makes you think this is your fault?”

Sky swallowed, and gathered up his courage to face the truth. “I’m the one who’s responsible for Ganon.”

Time frowned. 

“He uttered a curse, describing how his hate would never parish, that he would keep coming back as long as the reincarnated goddess and her hero were still there. I just let him curse the Hero’s Spirit and let the Master Sword do the work of sealing him away. I could have killed him-“ 

“Could you?”

“What?” 

“Would you be able to kill him?”

“Yes, I could have! I had all the opportunities in the world, and I did nothing!” 

Time raised a hand to his lips. “The others are sleeping. And don’t beat yourself over the head about it. I know I’ve done that way too many times in my life and it never helped. If you dwell on it, it will only make you feel worse about it.” 

Keijo stirred from where he was. Sky stood up to check on the little one. 

“How is he?” Time whisper-shouted. 

“He’s alright. I should probably stay here to keep an eye on him.” 

Time stood to sit with Sky. Comfort for the both of them. He sat closer to his son, and stroked his head. Keijo shuttered in his sleep. It was cute! If only Malon was there to enjoy these moments with him. 

“I’m still very sorry,” Sky continued, “If I killed him when I had the chance, then you wouldn’t have suffered so much.” 

“I’ll take your word for it,” Time sighed, “and who knows, it might have been your fault, but I’m sure it was more the circumstance to blame. You were fighting something that was more powerful than any mortal or being. I wouldn’t put it past anyone if he weren’t killable. So don’t blame yourself for my suffering.” Time smiled tiredly. “I already have a scapegoat to hate.”

Time looked down at Keijo, who had seemed to have cuddled closer to be with his father. 

Sky smiled and yawned. “May I ask the time?” 

“It’s about three in the morning. When did you start?”

“Roughly two hours ago, I think.” 

“Get to bed, then, Sky. I’ll take over watch.” 

“No, you won’t. Wild is next in line, I’ll wake him up. You  _ need _ your sleep.”

There was a pause. 

“Why do you stay up for three days straight? I know you’ve said that you’ll keep your secrets as long as we keep ours, but I think you can guess why I hold my sailcloth so dear to me.”

Time closed his eyes. Another pause. “It’s just a bad habit I picked up on the road. I can’t ever sleep during those periods of time no matter how much I try.” 

“That must be awful.”

“I’m sure it would be hell on Hyrule for you.”

Sky chucked and stood up, going to wake Wild. 

Once the new shift was established, Time trusted Wild with watching over Keijo. It took a while longer for time to get back to sleep, but he eventually did. 

Then everyone woke up once again at six in the morning. Wild was holding him when Time woke up, and of course he was integrated about what could have possibly made him cry. Four was too busy theorizing about why this was happening. But then suspicions were confirmed. 

Keijo stopped crying again. 

“This is the second night this has happened,” Four commented. “Exactly starting at 6, stopping at 6:15. How strange.”

“Is your baby a demon?” Legged bluntly asked. 

Time looked down at his son. He looked back up. “Yes.”

“Well uh oh.”

“It seems that little Jojo has taken the liberty of being our alarm clock,” Warrior declared. 

“Thanks, I hate it,” Legend snipped. 

Once they had all had breakfast and took care of Keijo’s needs, they set off on the road again. They felt a foreboding feeling on the way to Kakariko. Was there something following them? They kept close to where Time was carrying the 3 month old in his little baby satchel and watched the shadows. They eventually arrived at the small village, later into the afternoon. 

“This is Kakariko?” Legend looked skeptical. 

“Yeah it is,” Twilight said, “Is the one you’re used to different?” 

“Yeah… it’s more… green. This just looks like a wasteland.” 

“It’s right by a volcano, so I’m not surprised it looks like this.” 

There wasn’t just the atmosphere of the desert that was off putting to the others. Something about the air seemed gloomy. There was definitely a monster attack here at some point. 

They searched for the shaman to ask for any suspicious activity. He told them about an event a while back, where a Shadowy figure had visited them during the night, infecting plants and letting monsters into the village. They were lucky that they had bombs to defend their little village, but there was still damage done. 

While the others were trying to figure out what was happening, Hyrule felt a draw towards the east most part of the village. A path that went down to… somewhere. What was it? He felt darkness the most prevalent there. He didn’t like it. But he felt the need to confront it. 

“What’s down there?” Hyrule asked Twilight. 

Twilight looked at the path that he was pointing to. “That leads to their graveyard. Ya think that the Shadow’s there?” 

Hyrule nodded. “I feel something there. It’s malevolent, and I don’t like it.” 

Twilight’s visage sobered. “Let’s go tell the others.” 

The two heroes gathered the rest of the Links and told them about Hyrule’s discovery. 

“Kind of foreboding, that the darkness is in a graveyard,” Wind grimaced. 

Time’s eye narrowed, the baby in the satchel dozing off. “I don’t like this either. It probably wants us to be isolated and at a disadvantage. If we’re confronting it, someone has to watch over Keijo.” 

“We could have someone from the village watch over him while we take care of it,” Wild offered. 

Time looked at Keijo sadly. “I suppose we could. I’m sure I can trust these people if they have been good to our rancher.”

“Worried that something might happen to him?” 

“Always.” 

“It wouldn’t be a wise idea for us to wait until the morning,” Warrior noted, “They might attack in the middle of the night and catch us off guard. It’s better we go in prepared for a fight rather than not.” The nine Links could agree to that. 

“I’ll talk to Renado, I’m sure he’d be willin’ to watch over Keijo,” Twilight stood up and went for the door. “It would help that he’s a medicine man.”

That soothed some of Time’s fears, but not all of them. What if it got out of their hands and attacked the village and something happened to Keijo? What would they do if he were taken away? If he were killed? He couldn’t think about that, he couldn’t! Stop biting your nails, Link! You said you’d break that habit! 

After a short time, Twilight gave the affirmation that Renado would be willing to watch over the boy when they confronted the Shadow. 

Time reluctantly gave his son to the shaman, and they prepared themselves for anything that may be thrown their way. They went to the graveyard with caution. What they found there was nothing out of the ordinary, the graves not disturbed, no monsters were there, either. Where was it coming from? Was this an ambush? It must be. They subconsciously formed a circle, wary of all their surroundings. 

The first thing they noticed to realize they were ambushed was the horns bellowing. The monsters came out from their hiding places and took on the heroes. From all sides they were surrounded, and they fought the aeralfos, stalfos, moblins, daira, and skulltulas that surrounded them with vigor, but they were overwhelmed in a very short amount of time. They resulted to using their stronger items and magic, and even then, it was hard to overcome them. It was a rough hour of fighting these monsters until the crowd had finally thinned.

“They just won't give us a break, will they!?” Legend complained in between breaths. 

“You have your ways of fighting back,” Warrior countered, “use them!”

They were growing tired of the onslaught, but the heroes of courage still pushed on. At least the foes were getting weaker and in smaller groups. Half an hour later they were tending wounds, catching their breaths, and being thankful that no other enemies were there. 

One thing that rubbed all of the wrong way was there was no appearance of the Shadow. Hyrule felt it, he could feel the darkness, but where was it? Was it waiting for them to get so tired that they couldn’t fight back? Waiting for them to let their guard down? Well, now was definitely the time since wounds were getting healed during this little break. 

“If that lizalfos decides to jump us at the last minute I swear…” 

Time was getting very, very nervous. It’s not here. What if it’s over there, in the village? That shadow better not target his child-!

...oh no. 

Time ran back to the village, despite the other boys calling for him. He  _ knew  _ his son was in danger, and he was not going to let anything touch him! 

He rushed to the inn that Renado was staying in and burst through the door. He heard his son crying upstairs. 

No. no, no, no, nonononono _ nononononoNONO _

The shaman was either unconscious or dead on the floor, he couldn’t tell. He was too focused on getting to his child.  _ His  _ child.  _ His own son is in danger, and he wasn’t there to protect him. _

He slammed the door open to find something very, very unexpected. 

A man was in the room. A very dangerous,  _ wrong  _ man. He saw features about him that reminded Time of the others and a bit of himself, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. His hair was pitch black, his skin sickly pale, practically grey, and his eyes… his eyes were a deep red. They were staring right at him, reeking of pure danger and malice. The smile on his face was malevolent, twisted. 

And in his arms was little Keijo. 

**“ßê lµ¢k¥ †hå† ¥ðµ'rê hêrê †ð §êê ¥ðµr §ðñ ðñê lå§† †ïmê.”** the twisted Shadow sneered.  **“¥ðµ'll ñêvêr §êê hïm ågåïñ.”**

He lifted his hand and summoned the same portal that the black lizalfos summoned, and he vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was too obvious with the hints in the chapter headings, wasn't I? oh well. Hopefully I ripped out your heart anyway! if you couldn't see a certain boi's text, here's what is says:   
> "Be lucky that you're here to see your son one last time. you'll never see him again." 
> 
> :D


	8. Who Is He?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They find out who this mysterious kidnapper is, and Time is set on finding him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heheh,heheheheheh…. I told you that that ending was gonna be great. It’s only 8 chapters and I’ve already kidnapped a baby. Well, Dink did. Speaking of Dink, The Bois get the wonderful opportunity to name him! And Dink doesn’t get any of it. It’s glorious. So there’s that. Hehehhhhh, my pacing is way too fast.

…

…

No… 

Keijo…

No, no, nononono, please Hylia no…. 

Keijo was gone… stolen right in front of him. And he. Did.  _ Nothing. _

_ What a poor, sorry excuse for a father he was.  _

He dropped to his knees. He held the blanket that Keijo was previously wrapped in and held it close to himself. He screamed. He screamed until his voice became hoarse. Then he wept. He couldn’t protect his son. He was stolen by their adversary, and he had no idea of where he could have gone. He did absolutely nothing, he  _ let _ him steal that poor child! He heard footsteps running down the hallway and up the stairs. Wild and Warrior stood at the doorway. 

“Gramps?” Wild asked, his voice wavering a bit. “Where’s the kid?”

“He’s gone,” Time rasped. “He took him…”

“Who’s ‘he’?” Warrior was by his side, keeping a hand on his shoulder. 

“The shadow we’ve been chasing after isn’t what we thought…”

“That lizalfos that acts like it’s the leader?”

“The Shadow is a man.” 

Warrior’s gaze darkened. “A Dark Link.” He spat the word like it was poison on his lips. 

“He must be an amalgamation of some sorts…” Time wiped away a tear. “And I just stood there and let my son get taken!” 

“We’ll find him!” Wild tried to affirm. 

“By what means!?” Time stood abruptly and gripped Wild by the shoulders. His eyes screamed panic and sorrow. “We have nothing to go off of! How can we possibly find him when we’re constantly traveling between Hyrules!? I MAY NEVER GET TO SEE MY SON AGAIN, CHAMPION!!!”

“Calm down!” Warrior commanded. Time let go of the poor shaking hero that was in his death grip. “We  _ will _ find him again. Nothing has ever stopped us from overcoming evil, and we  _ will _ do it again. There are nine of us, and even though our foes are getting stronger, we  _ will _ overcome them. Don’t you dare give up on any of us, or your son. What would Malon think if you did?” 

Those words made Time flinch. Why did he have to bring his beloved into this?

The others soon came into the room, and they could feel the tension in the air. They took notice of the empty cradle in the room, and Twilight and Hyrule were checking over the unconscious shaman. 

“So we were tricked,” Legend drawled in annoyance, “should have seen that coming.” 

“But why steal a baby!?” Wind was angry. Very angry. “What reason does a living tar pit have for kidnapping a … well, a kid!?” 

“To hit where it’s hardest, that’s what,” Four’s piercing blue eyes glaring daggers into the floorboards. “I won’t be surprised if it tries to indoctrinate the kid.” 

Time felt the worrisome thoughts invade his head.  _ What if that Dark Link raises Keijo to fight against them? What if he kills him? What if he gets neglected and abused, to the point where his son is nigh unrecognizable? What if Keijo doesn’t remember him afterwards? What if he sees Dark Link as his father? What if- _

“Don’t think about those things, Old Man,” Sky shook him out of his thoughts. “Breathe. Just calm down. We’ll find him again. I was able to find my Zelda, I’m sure we can find him again.”

“What’s wrong, Cub?” 

Twilight was in the room now, trying to figure out why his Cub was shedding silent, distressed tears. His only response was Wild pulling his hood over his head and hunching his shoulders like a scolded child. 

Warrior pointedly looked Time in the eye. Twilight sent the Old Man a condescending look that asked  _ ‘what did you do?’  _

Time let out a sorrowful shuttery sigh. “I let my panic control me, I shouldn’t have scared you, Cub.” Time stepped closer cautiously, knowing that the wrong motion from him could scare the kid off. “I apologize for causing your distress.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “We’re all a bit distressed, aren’t we?”

Wild timidly looked up at Time and walked up to him slowly to give him a hug. How long ago was it that he had a hug? He concluded too long. Wild gave very nice hugs. Sky did, too. Oh, he was also hugging the both of them. They let go of each other and Wild silently forgave his elder. Once they focused back to the task at hand, the nine links now faced a daunting question:

Now what?

* * *

The child was still crying. No,  _ screaming. _

How long had it been keeping this up? It felt like an eternity. Dark didn’t care. The helpless little tyke could scream its little lungs ragged for all he cared. 

Speaking of which, it probably didn’t need those, right? 

OW!!!! 

Keijo bit down on his finger, and he bit down,  _ hard.  _ Goodness gracious, he was lucky that his teeth weren’t Kokiri teeth! He ripped his finger away and flicked the bauble head on the mouth. It cried harder. 

Ugh, Demise save him.

* * *

“And you said that he teleported using the same magic, but not a portal?” Warrior was currently trying to assess the situation by interrogating a mentally exhausted Time. 

“I did,” Time sighed, “he didn’t leave anything behind, and if he did, I didn’t see it.” 

“Do you think that he might be still in this Hyrule?” Four asked. “He might not have used the portals we travel through because he wasn’t traveling to a different Hyrule, which might require more magic.”

“That is a possibility, but we should take into account the option that he is in another Hyrule,” Warrior stated, “What if he is powerful enough to warp between worlds?” 

“It would take a lot longer to track him down, that’s for sure,” Legend griped. “I suggest that we just follow the monster attacks, see if that leads us closer to him. From what we know, if he is the lizalfos that holds a grudge against Pretty Boy, he sometimes fights alongside his minions, or at least watches from a close proximity. If that’s the case, we could easily find him again, strap him down to the table, and interrogate him about where he’s keeping the kid.”

Twilight nodded his head in agreement. “So we agree that if we follow the monster mobs, we’ll be able to find him again?” 

A collective ‘yes’s and affirmative hums filled the room.

Warrior sighed. “It’s been a long day. I’m sure that the Old Man wants to get us on the road again now, but we need to rest first. We’ll get to bed early, rise when the sun does.” And with that, Warrior settled down for the night. Time was grieving in his own little corner of the room for most of the night, and everyone else was silent as dinner was served to them before retreating for the night. Luckily Renado had allowed them refuge in the Inn, not that he would ever deny Twilight service. 

In the morning, they packed up quickly and set out to track down the one that kidnapped Keijo. 

On the road to nowhere, Wind could feel the dread in the air. Time was still wilty, and it looked like it was affecting everyone else. Wild was still jittery from last night, and Hyrule seemed pretty affected too, even though everyone else was as well. So Wind let himself think, clearly about ways to lighten up the mood. 

“So,” Wind loudly started, “the Shadow is a guy, right?”

“Yes,” Time sighed, “A Dark Link if you want specifics.”

“We should give him a name!” 

Four smiled to himself, probably getting a whole slew of ideas. He seemed to come to a conclusion, smirked a cheeky green, and answered; “Vandal.”

If that didn’t make someone laugh, it definitely got people smiling. Sky was coughing on water that he was attempting to drink but went down the wrong pipe, Warrior belted out a powerful laugh, and Twilight was holding back joining Warrior, but failing miserably. 

Once Warrior calmed down, he pitched in his own idea. “Let’s name him  _ Charlie. _ ” he had this very strange smile and was drumming his fingers together in a plotting manner. 

“No, his name is definitely Yo Freak,” Legend said. “It’s the perfect name!” 

Four still had names up his sleeves. “Dink.” 

“Dink Lark,” Wind shot back. 

“Dingus.”

“Skidamarink-a-Dink!”

“I still stand by  _ Charlie _ ,” Warrior confirmed. 

“Why do you have to say it weird like that?” Twilight asked. “Y’all are killin’ Sky!” 

Sky, the poor guy, having a laugh attack, just after recovering from pseudo-choking on water. 

“How about Derp, then?”

Wind did a double take. “What kind of name is that!?”

That didn’t help. “I can’t breathe,” Sky managed to wheeze before suffering from a laughing fit again. 

Four and Wind stopped for a moment to let Sky get some desperately needed air. 

“You good?” Wind asked Sky.

Sky exhaled a sigh of relief, his lungs feeling better and less tight. “I should be okay now, just don’t suggest something even more ridiculous that I die again.”

“Aw!!!” Four groaned, “I had some good ones!”

“I like Dink,” Wild said, “It gives us the opportunity to mock him even more.” 

“What do you think, Gramps?” Wind inquired. “What’s the final verdict?”

Time was silent for a moment. He started to smile. That was a good sign. 

“Drochbhéasach.”

Silence. 

“Dink  _ Charlie _ it is,” Warrior announced. 

That earned some chuckles from Time and the others. As much as Time liked that the other boys were finding ways to cheer themselves, and consequently him, up, but he was still worried about his child. Would he ever see him again? He needed to stop thinking that, but it just wouldn’t leave his peace of mind. … since when was his mind peaceful? No matter, he just needed to find Dink and get his son back. It wouldn’t be easy, it never was, but he wasn’t going to stop until either his son is in his arms again, or he dies trying.

Finding the monsters was relatively easy enough, if anything, they seemed to chase after them as well. Finding the newly dubbed Dink  _ Charlie  _ was harder now, since he was most likely either hiding, or too busy with a certain baby that he wasn’t supposed to be babysitting. They all knew this game of cat and mouse was tiring. 

* * *

He watched the heroes from afar in the Hidden Village, keeping himself hidden to observe. He didn’t have that brat with him of course, he left that to the bokoblins. They were surprisingly  _ okay _ at the job. Not the best, but  _ okay. _ He could tell Time was very distraught. Good. This could either hinder him, or invigorate Time to stop him. Hopefully the former happens. They all seemed to collectively agree that the kid needed to be found quickly. Hm. Perhaps he could tear them apart from the inside. But how? 

The battle was over. Hyrule was looking around, probably knowing he was somewhere near. He changed his form, and the darkness he fumed was muffled. He hid inside of one of the houses, making sure he wasn’t seen. 

“This is getting nowhere,” Legend decided. “We’ve been chasing these monsters for days and we haven’t found any sign of Dink!”

...Dink? What? Who’s Dink?

“I felt that darkness a moment ago,” Hyrule countered, “But it seemed to just… diminish.” 

“Where did you feel it?” Time demanded. 

“It was over there, but I don’t feel it anymore.” Hyrule pointed to where he was. Time to move to another spot, then. Time was getting closer, but he was faster as a Lizalfos. 

“Dink  _ Charlie _ ,” Warrior called out. Was that what they were calling him? What was with the weird tone of voice? “I know you’re gonna hate that name, so we’re gonna keep calling you that if that’s okay with you!” 

Dark sighed and rolled his eyes. He wasn’t too annoyed for it to drive him crazy. Yet. 

Time was still looking through the walls of the deteriorating house, his ears twitching, and his eye landed on the spot Dark was currently in. Time could see red eyes staring back at him. Is this what Twilight felt when Time glared at him like that? 

“I can see you,” Time threatened, “Come out of your hiding place and give Keijo back.” 

**“Lµ¢k¥ mê,”** Dark snidely replied, going back to his real form. Might as well play along.  **“Hê’§ ñð† wï†h mê.”**

Dark blinked, and then he was suddenly face to face with Time, and was being lifted off the ground by the neck. Sheesh, calm down! 

_ “Where is he?”  _

**“ßå¢k hðmê.”**

“‘Back home’ doesn’t tell me anything.”

**“Ì§ñ’† †hå† kïñÐ ð£ †hê þðïñ†?”**

Time growled and squeezed his throat harder. “Where’s ‘back home’?”

“Calm down, Gramps,” Warrior finally called out, “getting angry is not going to help. His question still stands, however.”

**“¥ðµ rêåll¥ †hïñk Ì’Ð †êll ¥ðµ †hå†? £ïñÐ ï† ¥ðµr§êl£!”**

“What are you doing to Keijo?” Wind demanded. 

Dink only smirked. Time hated what that implied. 

**“Ðð ¥ðµ rêåll¥ wåñ† †ð kñðw †hå†?”**

Time was shaking. “Tell me where my son is!”

**“Ì ålrêåÐ¥ †ðlÐ ¥ðµ. GððÐ lµ¢k £ïñÐïñg µ§.”** Dark freed himself from Time’s grip and teleported back to his hideout. Dark heard hissing. One of the monsters, probably. He turned a corner to find that none of the monsters were making any noise and were still dealing with that… thing. That was the thing that was hissing apparently. A three month old. If Time didn’t have intention to foil his plans, this gremlin certainly did. 

Well… what if it didn’t? 

What if he simply raised Keijo on his side? He was already set up for that path, might as well! Then he’d have the triforce of courage on the side of evil, it was perfect! 

Now to figure out how to make it stop hissing. 

His hair got pulled. This kid’s grip was ridiculous!

* * *

It was hard to stay in one place that night. Time was hopelessly fidgety, thinking too much. He bit his nails, rocking back and forth slowly to try and stem some of his simmering panic. Dink was staying silent about what he was doing to Keijo. What did that mean? It was very likely that he was not taking care of the poor child properly. Probably malnourishing him. What if he was neglecting him? What if Keijo dies of something that Dink did or didn’t do? Dink was in a position where he could easily kill the poor baby. 

He knew he had to find him. He had to. Before Dink did anything that could scar the child permanently. But it felt like these other boys were slowing him down. He knew better than to push them harder, they wouldn’t appreciate that. He could go it alone, but he might not be able to handle it on his own. Why else would nine heroes all be in the same spot? He did have that mask… but he didn’t want to tempt that thought. Last time he used it, it marked him. He didn’t like the implications of that. What else could he do? He stood up from where he was sitting, making sure that Hyrule, who was on watch on the balcony, didn’t hear anything. He’d just do a perimeter check. Yes, that sounded fine. He wouldn't be able to sleep if he tried anyway. Even if it were a sleep day he probably wouldn’t be able to. He silently took his sword and bag and left the safety of the camp. He needed time alone, this was fine. This was fine. He looked back up to find Hyrule watching the other direction. He continued his path quietly, thankful for the light of the moon so he could see enough to know where he was going. 

He walked through the ghost town, listening to the sounds of the night. But he couldn’t get what Dink said out of his mind.  _ ‘Do you really want to know that?’  _ Know what? What was he hiding from him? What was he doing to the poor child? What was it he should be scared of? What was he doing!? He should have done something before Dink disappeared out of his hands. He could have fought him! He needed to get his son back and he blew his chance! 

He walked around the houses, lost in his thoughts, not paying attention to his surroundings. He was too distracted to realize that he had veered out of the village itself. The anxiety soon began to be too much and he started running. He was probably going to get lost, but he didn’t seem to care. He needed to find Keijo again, and his legs were taking him far away from camp, leading him somewhere. He didn’t know where he was going, but he had to start somewhere, right? 

He  _ did _ know where he was going. He could feel that same darkness that Hyrule could feel. If he could feel it, then it must be too strong. He chased it. He knew that chasing something that was likely more powerful than you was an idiotic idea, but he kept running through the small canyon. Dink was taunting him. He could see him waiting for him at the entrance to a nearby field. 

**“¥ðµ §hðµlÐ håvê §†å¥êÐ wï†h ¥ðµr grðµþ, †ïmê.”** Dark said. 

Time kept his hand on the hilt of the Biggoron sword. 

**“Lïkê m¥ ñï¢kñåmê £ðr ¥ðµ?”**

“I don’t care,” Time spat. “I’m getting my son back whether you like it or not.” 

**“Öñ¢ê ågåïñ, Ì wï§h ¥ðµ lµ¢k. ¥ðµ’rê gðïñg †ð ñêêÐ ï†.”**

Time unsheathed his sword, but kept it to his side. Dink unsheathed a dark, bastardized version of the Master Sword. Sky would be seething if he laid eyes on that blade. Dink only stood there, waiting. Time knew better than to be the first attacker. Nevertheless, he took a wary step forward. So did Dink. 

Not this again… 

He walked forward, Dink also taking steps forward. Time was reminded of a reflective lake of water, with an island and dead tree in the center. He lifted his own sword. He hoped that this would be at least as easy as the fight in that… temple was with this same sword. 

Soon they were both standing close to each other, eye to eye, swords at the ready. Time knew that Dink would wait for him to strike first. Time swung the massive claymore down, and Dink dodged to the side. Time expected that. Dink swiped at his legs, but Time jumped out of the way. It was hard to see what Dink was doing in the dark, but he followed where the glowing red eyes went, and could see a glint of a metal blade as it swung through the air. They exchanged blows after blows, Dink mirroring every move he made. Time then did something a bit different; he took out the Megaton Hammer and started fighting with that. Dink was smarter than the shadow he fought in that temple, however. He dodged, would appear behind him to strike at his back, which was luckily shielded with both his Mirror Shield and armor. Time eventually switched back to the Biggoron sword and struggled to find an opening that Dink wouldn’t cover with a mirroring blow. He eventually got behind him and struck his side. Dink winced and hissed in pain, but kept fighting. Dink then landed a powerful swing and the Biggoron sword was knocked out of Time’s hands, his wrists screaming from the blow. Time should have figured that this would happen. Engaging in a fight that he was likely not able to win. But he wouldn’t give up. He had other alternatives. He took out his Gilded sword and fought with that, even though it was a lot shorter than he would have liked, made for the small hands of a child soldier. He kept his distance, while going in to land a stab or two where Dink wasn’t guarded. It was harder than it looked, as Dink would turn to face him quickly and close the gap between them. He was able to pick up the Biggoron sword again, but he kept the same strategy, but modified for a bigger blade. Time was lucky that he was wearing armor. There were many blows that it saved him from. However, his legs and arms were still exposed. He felt a deep pain shoot through his left calf, and his knee nearly buckled. He was still going to fight. He had to. So he pushed his body to the limit and kept exchanging blows with a dark twisted villain who was smiling. It became hard to focus on predicting where the blade would go, and he was getting easier for Dink to hit. 

“Sir!” He heard a distant voice call for him. “Sir, where are you!?” 

He was tempted to turn around and look for the disembodied voice, but he had to focus on what Dink was doing. He tried fighting him off with his still injured calf, but he was practically pinned, now. He fell to the ground. Pitiful. 

“Sir!” It was Hyrule calling him. He was probably right behind him. “Why did you leave!?” Hyrule turned a corner and saw Time’s predicament. Dink  _ Charlie _ . He was there, practically standing over the Old Man. 

Hyrule put on his brave face. “Step away from him, Dink.” 

**“Ör whå†?”** Dink jeered. **“¥ðµ’ll ¢åll £ðr ¥ðµr ‘£rïêñÐ§’? ¥ðµ håvêñ’† êvêñ kñðwñ †hêm £ðr £ðµr mðñ†h§ åñÐ ¥ðµ’vê ålrêåÐ¥ grðwñ §ð å††å¢hêÐ †ð †hêm. Jµ§† §hðw§ hðw þå†hê†ï¢åll¥ wêåk ¥ðµ årê, ñêêÐïñg †ð rêl¥ ðñ ð†hêr§.”**

Hyrule tuned the taunts out. Time needed to get out of there. “I’ve dealt with a shadow of my likeness before. I can do it again.”

“Don’t sell him short, Traveler,” Time warned, “He’s more powerful than you think.”

“I have others to back me up if I need them.” After Hyrule had found that Time was missing, he woke up Four early and set out to find him. However, Four didn’t let him go alone, and then woke up Wind to take night watch in their stead. He wasn’t happy at first, but after he realized that his idol was gone, he let them go look for him. Four was there to back him up. 

Dink raised his sword to strike Time, but Hyrule charged and knocked the twisted doppelgänger off balance. He then struck Dink in the side with the pommel of his Magic Sword, the same place where Time landed a hit, making him hit the floor. 

Four left his hiding place and grabbed Time’s arm. 

“Are you okay?” Four asked, “You look like you got it handed to you.”

“I’m fine,” Time curtly replied, “I just need to get back to the fight.”

“No,” Four’s green voice firmly declared, “You’re getting back to camp whether you like it or not. I know you want your kid back, but you can’t fight with a gash like that in your leg.” Four tugged on his arm, coaxing him up, then gave him support on his injured side. He was a bit small to give Time a good crutch, but he was diligent enough to drag the man if need be. 

An arrow whizzed by the two. Four didn’t hesitate to grasp the hilt of his sword. Time was suddenly surrounded by Four… Fours. One was still holding him up, the other three were heading to where Dink and Hyrule were fighting, pitching in their effort to subdue him. 

“Hang in there, Pops,” the Four that was holding him up said. His voice seemed lighter and soft. “We’re still gonna get you patched up.”

“Make sure his wound isn’t bleeding freely, Red!” An intelligent sounding Four had reminded. That was strange to think about. 

Red, apparently, kept leading him away from the chaos behind him and only stopped once they were out of the line of fire to crudely bandage up his leg. 

“Sorry if this is a bit of a shock,” Red apologized, “This is the first time I’ve split up with you guys around.” 

Time said nothing, only humming in acknowledgement. They went back to camp, slower than they both would have liked. Time especially wanted to just run despite the throbbing pain in his leg. They eventually reached the house in the main village that they were taking shelter in. Wind was near dozing when they arrived, but he was up and awake when he saw Red and Time at the doorway, Time battered from battle. 

“Holy Hylia, are you okay, Gramps!?” Wind whisper shouted. “Do I need to wake up the others?” 

Time opened his mouth to say no, but Red beat him to it. “I think we should, the Traveler and my other parts are fighting Dink, they're probably gonna need back up.” Red giggled. “Dink. I love that name so much!”

Wind went to wake the others, but instead did a double take. “Other parts?” 

“I uh… we? Yeah, we can split into four people. I’m the happy part!” 

Wind raised a finger to say something, but nothing would come out of his mouth, as he was too busy processing what Red told him. He lowered his arm in defeat. 

“Don’t think about it too hard, we have a team to wake up!” 

Some of the boys were not happy to be woken up in the middle of the night, but once the situation was explained, they were rushing out to go help the others. It seemed that the fight had gotten closer to the village, as they saw three other Fours and Hyrule running from a Shadowy figure. 

Time and Red were left behind in the house, Red tending to Time’s wound. Wild climbed up to the balcony of the house and whipped out his bow. The others used their swords and surrounded Dink. He knew that a simple sword and shield wouldn’t fend them off so easily. He did use sword beams, something that Sky was very familiar with. However, one single person fighting eleven other people at once was taxing. Dink was getting overwhelmed. It was obvious. Dink knew it as well. He backflipped away and created a portal, and went through. Time didn’t hesitate to follow. Now was his chance, and none of the other boys were going to stop him! The others called out to him, but he was already gone. They couldn’t blame him, they felt he pull towards the portal as well. Keijo could be on the other side after all. They all followed, expecting the worst. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus we see Time going on the path to becoming a mad man. 
> 
> Here's the Dink Dialogue: 
> 
> "Lucky me, He's not with me."
> 
> "Back Home."
> 
> "Isn't that kind of the point?" 
> 
> "Do you really want to know that?"
> 
> "I already told you. good luck finding us."
> 
> "You should have stayed with your group, Time." 
> 
> "Like my nickname for you?"
> 
> "Once again, I wish you luck. You're going to need it."
> 
> "Or What? You'll call for your 'friends'? You haven't even known them for four months and you've already grown so attached to them. Just shows how pathetically weak you are, needing to rely on others." (yeah, typical, I know)


	9. The Final Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And dis is the final chapter! ... well, there’s gonna be an epilogue and something else, but take it! Care for it!

They didn’t really know what to expect when going through the portal. 

They all had different ideas to what Dink’s evil lair would look like, but nothing quite like this. Well, Time should have seen it coming. 

Most of the walls were blue, the floor reflective like water, but tinged with purple. There were small waterfalls in the walls flowing into a small chasm surrounding the edges of the room, and pillars that stood next to the small chasm. It reminded each hero of something they had encountered before. 

Twilight groaned. “Why do we have to fight him in a  _ Water Temple? _ ”

“Are they that bad?” Wind asked. 

_ “Yes.”  _

“Why does this remind me of Vah Ruta?” Wild wondered out loud.

“Probably because it’s a chamber full of water and stuff.”

**“§ðmê†hïñg †hå† ßrïñg§ mê ¢ðm£ðr† ï§ åll,”** a dark voice said. 

Time whipped around to find Dink watching with a smug look. 

“You’re keeping him somewhere else, aren't you?”

**“Wh¥ wðµlÐ Ì ñð†? Ðð ¥ðµ wåñ† ¥ðµr ¢hïlÐ †ð Ðïê ïñ ßå††lê?”**

Time stiffened. He didn’t. He got into a battle stance, as did the rest of the boys. 

“Careful of your leg,” Red reminded him, “I know you took a potion, but it’s smart to let it heal a bit more.” Time didn’t care at this point. He was ready to fight to the death if need be. 

Dink smiled.  **“Ððñ’† ðvêrêxêr† ¥ðµr§êl£ å§ ¥ðµ £ïgh†,** **_ÖlÐ måñ._ ** **”**

Time ran forward, faster than what the boys expected from him. Dink was alo caught off guard with how sudden the action was, and had to dodge to keep himself from getting impaled. Time turned and swiped, aiming to take off Dink’s head. Dink was able to keep up with Time’s fast pace, but the Old Man didn’t seem to tire at all, spurred on by adrenaline and motivation to save a helpless soul. If he was able to fight like that with armor on, then how would he fight without it? The other boys helped in their own ways, mainly in the form of long range weapons. With Dink occupied with the raging mad man fighting him head to head, the Boys had it pretty easy with finding ways to get at him. However, monsters were called into the room. The boys became occupied by the mobs that surrounded them, fighting off mainly moblins, and the occasional hard enemy, like Daira, Iron Knuckles, so on. Time was still focused on Dink. nothing could tear him away from the battle that they fought. 

“The monsters just keep coming!” Wild yelled, throwing bombs at the hordes. 

“Use everything you got,” Warrior commanded, “Don’t even think about holding back!”

None of them did. Twilight and Warrior whipped out their ball and chains, Wind took out the skull hammer, and they all decimated their foes. The other boys followed, taking out the most powerful weapon in their arsenal and wreaking havoc on the hordes of enemies until they were no more. The bigger enemies were harder to get rid of, but the water surrounding the room was soon stained a deep dark red from all of the death dealt by the hero's hands. 

The heroes looked back to the fight that their surrogate leader was enduring. He was still at it, beating down on the impostor with vigor. They had never seen him so deranged. Dink had lept a far distance away, preparing to with an enhanced bow that he summoned (lucky he was here and not somewhere else where he couldn’t do that), but Time took out his Long shot and impaled him, and slammed him down onto the ground in front of him. Dink struggled to get up, with a hole in his chest from where the long shot stabbed him. Time kept his eyes on Dink, a hand in his travel pouch, searching for something. 

“Is that all you can do?” Time asked lethally. 

**“¥ðµ kñðw Ì ålwå¥§ håvê †hê lå§† låµgh, †ïmê,”** Dink coughed. 

He took out a mask, something that Twilight recognised. It was that Mask that Time told him to stop him from using if he ever tried to. 

“Dad, wait!!!” Twilight called out. The Old Man didn’t hear him. 

“It’s my turn, now.” he put on the mask, and screamed a fierce battle cry as his body changed. His hair turned to silver, both his eyes became white, and his stature twice his usual height. Twilight grabbed Wild and Wind, the two closest heroes to him, by the collar and started running for shelter. The other boys followed, and hid behind one of the fallen pillars. When Twilight looked back up to see what was happening, he wished that he didn’t see anything. 

Time was completely massacring Dink, who was currently on the floor being impaled and sliced to death by a giant double helix broadsword. Time, no, the Deity within the Mask, stepped back, and Twilight got a full glimpse of how hopelessly broken Dink was. He looked like a tattered rag doll that was used for target practice. But he was still writhing on the ground, struggling to get up. The Deity must have done something, because Dink was then surrounded by a blue crystal. Dink looked up only to be stabbed through by crystal spears that jutted out from the inside of the crystal. He let out an awful shriek, and then combusted into flames, which was probably the Deity’s doing as well. Twilight had to stop looking, even when The Deity practically decimated the already destroyed Dark Link with a powerful sword beam. 

Then the Mask fell off. Time was absolutely exhausted. He fell to his knees. Twilight rushed to his side, helping him stand back up. 

“Thank you, pup,” Time rasped. 

“Don’t mention it,” Twilight panted. 

Wild saw the Mask that fell from Time’s face. He had something similar to that, but it seemed more powerful that the one he was used to. And the way that Time used it, he didn’t think that he could trust Time with it. He picked up the mask. Twilight and Time became alarmed.

“Give that back,” Time commanded, “That thing is too dangerous!”

Wild shook his head, not wanting to risk Time becoming a manic Deity again. Time went to grab it from him, but his legs gave out when he left Twilight’s grasp. 

Meanwhile, Legend nudged the husk that was previously Dink with his foot. 

“Yup, he’s definitely dead,” the Veteran concluded. 

“Then why do I still feel it?” Hyrule wondered out loud. “The darkness. It’s faint, but it’s still there. It’s coming from him.”

It’s probably just the residue from his corpse,” Legend stabbed the tattered mess on the ground. “Does that make you feel better?”

Legend didn’t see the corpse’s eyes glow red once again. He didn’t expect to be thrown to the side by an explosion right next to him. Everyone was caught off guard by it. A pillar of dark magic came from the corpse and shrouded the room in darkness. Hyrule keeled over in pain, the darkness too much for his senses to take. A red light emanated from the center of the room. A black goopy figure that reflected red light stared at the party of heroes, emotionless. Time was really panicking now. 

“Cub,” Time called out to the spooked cook, “Give me the Mask, now!!”

Wild whipped his head around, looked down at the Mask, then ran to Time, stretching the Mask out to him in panic. 

A fast blur of red whizzed by him before he could reach the Old Man. Time cried out in pain. Blood was coughed up. A stab wound that pierced through his armor was now formed in his gut. 

He was too late. 

**“I̷̦̥̣͑́ ̷̧͓̺̠̣̺̬̓̑̈́̀͑A̷̘̗̎̏̓́͋̄͐͝L̸̛͓̭͎̹̭̲͈̎̃̃̀̈́͋̎̔̉͜W̴̫̬̤̯̪̙̪͇̍̈́̀̓̀̑̂̕Ȁ̴̧̡̱̱̰͎̣̩̥͇̿̑̽Y̴̼͈̬̺̙̩̫̜̾́̿̈́̾̀̐͐̅S̷̡̥͍͓̤͔̪̪̫͒̒ ̴̹̥̹̱̗̈́͒͆̐̿̂͗̍Ḫ̷̡͍̗͕̗̞͍̫͔̉̿͆̈̈́̔̓̚͝Ạ̶̎̄̽̂͘V̷̢̲͙̜͙̙͉̻̑̽͋̀͗͜͜͝E̶̥̫͆͑̄̈ ̴̹̗̭͕̙̗̞̂̎̅̇̊̔̆̍̚͝T̴̬̆̿̍H̶̨̢͈͙͎̯̀Ë̸̛̝́̈́ ̸̡͓͔͌̀͗͛̓̔̚L̴̼̈̏̈̈̕͝A̶͍̘̒̉͛̌͑̔̈́̓͌S̸̢̢̠̰̹͔̯͍̊̔̓̊̓̌̒T̷̢͇͉̆̏́̓̒͐ ̴͉̝̤̻̬̳̯͙͚̇̀̅̀͗̕L̸͚͕̰̺̗̓͝A̵̤͚̾͂͋͊͘Ů̵̢̖̳̟̩̹̫̱̱G̸̬̀̎̔͂̍̿̈́̎͘H̴̛̹̾̎̓̎̎̄̎͒̓”** The dark figure reminded. He removed the blade-like appendage from Time’s body.

“DAD!” hot tears were streaming down Twilight's face as he struggled to keep Time from falling. Time was roughly laid on his back. Twilight checked for a pulse, and if he felt anything, it was very faint. Twilight felt hopeless. He called for Hyrule and inspected the wound. Then he realized the red that was glowing on his right side was coming from the monster that killed his father. He looked up. 

Wind’s insult calling Dink a “living tarpit” now made sense. It looked like it was made of it, dripping to the side as if a strong wind were trying to blow it away. The Creature raised its arm blade. Twilight did nothing, too stunned by everything that was happening. He only registered what happened after Wild stepped in front of him, a shield breaking from the Creature’s strike. 

“You think that the Old Man isn’t the only one with a mask like that?” Wild’s voice shook with unfettered rage. 

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Cub, please, dont-”

Wild brought out  _ another _ Mask and put it on, not trusting the one that Time used. He didn’t grow in size, but it gave him the same looks that it did Time. He charged the Monster and sliced it in half. The blade only went through it, and it struck back. 

A scream off to the side tore through the air, and Warrior came sprinting at the monster and lept up into the air, intending to stab it through the head. It moved out of the way before it could get touched by Warrior’s blade. Wild and Warrior weren’t the only ones going feral. Wind also went to land a strike at the awful entity, Green and Blue following. Sky was still a ways away, looking for an opening, but his visage still twisted in bitter anguish nonetheless. Twilight dragged Time and the Mask away from the onslaught, hesitating to leave his Mentor’s side. He felt a hand on his shoulder and flinched. 

“Let me take care of him,” the broken voice of Hyrule said, “You need to fight that thing more than I do.”

Twilight let himself stand up, grab his sword, and join in on the battle.

….

Time was tired. 

He was done. He wanted to rest. But he was comfortable here. 

Where was here? 

He was surrounded by green grass, a warm sun and breeze making the weather nice. He was reminded of a green hill with a single tree upon the top. But this was more… pleasant, rather than subtly wrong like that place was. He felt content. Like being on the ranch. He missed the ranch. He wanted to go home but… he already felt at home here. 

“Hey, Fairy Boy.” 

He nearly shed tears upon hearing that angelic voice again. 

“Mavourneen?” He whimpered. He sat up to find her sitting to the side of him, smiling. Hea crawled over to her and hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go.

“I’m right here,” she reassured, “It’s okay.”

“I missed you,” Link wept, “I missed you so much.”

“I don’t blame ya. You've been through a lot since comin’ home.” 

Link was thankful she didn’t say anything else that could have alluded to something he was still trying to cope with. He didn’t want to lose her again. 

“I’m so tired,” he confessed, “I want you back.” 

“I know you do,” She rubbed comforting circles into his back. “I didn’t wanna leave either. I’m sorry I left you with so much to deal with alone. I wish I was there to raise Keijo alongside you.”

Link remembered their son. He remembered what happened to him. What Dink did. The tears flowed more. 

“I’m such an awful father.”

“Don’t say that!”

“I let him get kidnapped because I wasn’t there to keep him safe!”

“He would have killed you if you stayed with Keijo at that time. I’ve been watching from here, and I’ve seen what could have happened. Those boys have been a good help.”

Link simply wept in her arms. He needed this. He needed this so much. He hadn’t felt her touch in such a long time, it felt so good to be held again. He didn’t want to leave. Not again. Not ever. 

“Yer time isn’t up yet, sweetie.”

No. He wasn’t going to leave. He wanted to stay here, with his wife. Couldn’t he finally have peace? 

“Yer son needs savin’ and raisin’. I’d appreciate it if he didn’t grow up an orphan.” 

That’s true… he didn’t want to have Keijo grow up miserable. But why couldn’t Malon stay with him? 

“I can’t go with you. I wish that I could. But remember that I’m here with you in spirit.”

Link pulled away from his wife. He looked at her beautiful face again. She smiled at him. He missed that smile so much. She looked down at his hands that she held. 

“You’ve been bitin’ yer nails.”

Link looked down guiltily. “I’m sorry.”

“Soon you won’t have time to bite ‘em, with the little one given’ ya trouble.”

Link chuckled. 

She cupped his cheek, and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. “Go and be the hero for yer son.”

He never liked being called a hero, he never truly felt like one, but it fet right to be called one in this case. A hero to his son. Yes, he’d accept his role if it meant saving those he loved.

“If only I could save you,” Link lamented. 

“I’ll be waitin’ right here, Fairy Boy. Don’t you dare give up on me, either!”

She stood up, and invited him to do the same. “And plus,” she nudged him on the shoulder, “You don’t have to be afraid of Jarosław. He’s quite the gentleman.” 

Jarosław? Who was that? Link looked at Malon inquisitively. 

“Ain’t that the Fierce Deity’s name?” 

Oh. Wait, he had a  _ name?  _

Malon laughed at his confusion. “You can still trust him is what I’m sayin’. Now go win yer fight!” She shooed him off to a light that was enveloping him. He didn’t feel ready to leave, but he felt that pull towards his calling as a hero. She gripped his hand and smiled at him. 

“Live yer life as the best you can be, Link!” She let go of his hand, and everything was white. 

….

Hyrule struggled to keep his hands from shaking as he desperately tried to heal a dying father figure that he grew to love as the battle raged on without him. He couldn’t let Keijo become an orphan. No! He knew what being an orphan was like, and Keijo didn’t ever deserve that. No child did. He dug out a magic potion from his bag, downed it, and kept healing. He also had a fairy on him luckily, and she helped heal the worst of the Old Man’s wound. He just needed Time to gain consciousness again. 

“Please,” Hyrule pleaded, tears rolling down his face, “please wake up!”

He looked up briefly and saw that the other heroes we’re at a stalemate with that…  _ thing. _ They were all fighting diligently, but what Dink had become seemed to match them all in strength, even with Wild enhanced with his own version of the Mask that was laying innocently beside him. 

A groan emitted form the body that he was distractedly healing. Hyrule looked down to see Time’s eye opened, looking around, adjusting to the light. 

“Sir?” Hyrule shakily asked. “Do you feel okay? D-Do I still need to heal you?”

“Hello Traveler,” Time greeted softly. He sat up slowly and saw the battle in front of him. He saw his boys fighting with raging vigor against Dink. Well, he assumed that was Dink, he wasn’t sure anymore. He saw Wild and panicked for a brief moment, thinking that he had put on the Mask. It was when his hand brushed something wooden did he feel calmer. The Mask was beside him, probably put there by Twilight, or maybe Wild himself. That Wild Child did have a version of Majora’s Mask, why wouldn’t he have a version of the Fierce Deity’s Mask? Time brushed those thoughts aside and remembered what Malon told him. _ “You can trust Jarosław.”  _ He was still baffled at the concept of what he assumed was a war deity having an actual name and being described as a  _ gentleman  _ of all things. He hesitantly picked up the mask, but a hand grabbed his wrist. 

“You’re gonna put that thing on again?” Hyrule’s voice was still broken. Afraid. Afraid of the Mask possibly corrupting him, or Time dying again? 

“I’m sure it just wants to help,” Time replied cryptically. 

Hyrule gave him a worried look before checking him over again and standing up, grabbing his sword. 

“Please don’t die again.” Hyrule ran to the battle and yelled something that sounded like both a warning and an announcement. Time put the mask on again, this time, without fear.

“𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒶𝒻𝓇𝒶𝒾𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒,” he heard a familiar voice say. “𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓇𝒶𝑔𝑒, 𝑒𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇..”

“No,” Time replied. “I am not. If Malon trusts you, then I suppose that I could as well.” She always seemed to have better judgement.

“𝒮𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓌𝑒 𝓋𝒶𝓃𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓈𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀 𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓉𝓎??”

“Yes.” 

“𝒱𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓁.”

Time stood up, and walked towards where his boys were fighting the Creature. He summoned the Deity’s sword again. The boys were looking to where he was. Some were filled with relief, others with fear. The Dark Creature didn’t seem to care. He only took the opportunity to hurt them more. Time charged and blades met. 

**“Sky!”** Time called,  **“Put the Master Sword to some good use!”**

Sky didn’t hesitate to help in the fight. Every strike that he landed had made the creature hiss in pain as his body seemed to corrode where the Master Sword touched. Vio got the bright idea of taking out the Light Arrows that they received by kinstone fusions and found that they also weakened the Monster. Wind took out his own and helped as well. The Dark Monster's body would regenerate, but they kept it under control with any light weapon that the heroes had. Soon after a long time of whittling it down, it was soon reduced to nothing, destroyed by the light of the Master Sword and the Deity’s Sword. 

There was silence. The boys didn’t know what to expect. Twilight turned to where the Deity stood, watching for anything that could threaten him and his brothers. The Deity raised both hands to his face, and grabbed… something, and pulled. There was a flash of light, and Time stood in its place, holding the Mask. 

Time breathed in, and breathed out. He was dizzy. The adrenaline of battle left him, and the feeling of nearly dying was catching up to him. But it was over, right? 

“Do you feel anything, Traveler?” Time asked. Before he could get an answer, Time fainted from the overexertion of fighting too much. The heroes ran over to the Old Man, Twilight especially being concerned. 

Warrior and Sky helped get his armor off. Green raised Time’s feet. Twilight checked for a pulse, and a wave of calming relief washed over him when he felt a steady heartbeat. He didn’t realise that he was shaking from all the fighting, and all of the panic and stress. He wanted to follow in Time’s footsteps and promptly collapse, but he didn’t have time for that. 

“It’s gone,” Hyrule whispered, to the others, but mainly to himself. “We’re finished, the darkness is gone, we’re okay.”

“It’s done?” Legend was skeptical, but still relieved. “No jumpscare battle at the last minute?” 

A door opened, leading down a hallway. Was this how they get out of here? 

“We still need to find Keijo,” Wild reminded, “Pops would kill us if we forgot!”

Hyrule, who was tending to Time, volunteered to stay behind. “You guys go ahead to try and find Keijo, I’ll stay here to watch over the Old Man.”

Time’s eye opened groggily. He felt achy all over. He just wanted to keep lying there. His chest hurt. 

“Can you sit up?” that sounded like Hyrule.

Time groaned. He knew if he sat up, he’d feel dizzy. 

“Do you need help? I’ll be careful.” 

A hand grabbed his own and started to tug it gently. Another one grabbed the other. 

“On three?” that sounded like Wild. Time hummed. He felt his legs be set down slowly. He didn’t notice that they were off the ground in the first place. 

“One, two, three!” Hyrule and Wild pulled the old man up slowly. Once Time was off his back, he felt support come from behind. Once he was on his legs, Hyrule and Wild wrapped his arms around their shoulders to support him. His knees still felt weak. 

“Can you walk?” Wild asked. 

Time took a step forward, and so did they. He just realized that he felt lighter than normal. “Where’s my armor?”

“Got it right here, Gramps,” Warrior confirmed, holding up an extra bag, “didn’t want you to get claustrophobic.”

“Thanks.” Time looked down the hallway. It was practically asking for them to go there. He was certain that they’d find Keijo there. 

“We’ll split up into twos,” Warrior concluded, “The Cook and Traveller are obviously staying with the Old Man, Sailor, you’re with the Rancher. Veteran, go with Sky.” Warrior looked at the four… Fours. “Now what to do with you guys…” 

“I can become one again if that makes you feel better,” Blue snidely suggested. 

“Be nice,” Red chastised. 

I think it would be better if I stay split up,” Vio stated, “we could get more ground covered this way.”

Warrior thought for a moment. “You can take care of yourself. … selves… just split up into two groups.”

“I’m with Blue!” Red exclaimed. Blue groaned, but didn’t protest further. “You can come with the two of us, Captain!” Vio and Green grouped together in response. 

Warrior nodded. “Don’t overexert yourself, Old Man.”

“I have a hunch that he’ll end up finding him first,” Legend snickered. 

“That’s not even worth betting on, we know that for a fact.” 

They all went down the hall. Time slowly regained the strength to walk again. He still kept a slow pace, but on the inside, his heart was racing. He needed to see if his son was alright. What if he was hurt? What if he was mentally damaged beyond repair? He needed to find him. He felt the pull towards him, but he also felt the hands of his other boys holding him back. 

“Remember what Warrior said,” Wild chuckled, “we don’t want you to pull a muscle or anything, Gramps!” 

It was just like finding Navi all over again, only he could feel a pull towards his son, and every step led him closer. He wasn’t lost this time. He didn’t pay mind to the boys that were keeping to his side anymore. He was soon close enough that he could hear Keijo. The poor baby was crying. He wondered how long he was crying. He found the room that Keijo was being kept in. He was lying on a table with a cloth surrounding him, which was probably used as a blanket from him at some point. The triforce on his little left hand was glowing, probably reacting to this dark place. Time wanted to cry. He was here. He was okay! 

Time went to pick up the poor boy, and he immediately got more quiet. Keijo still whimpered and clung to his father’s tunic, and Time’s heart both broke and melted. He held the baby close, and whispered comforting words into his son’s ear. He looked behind him to see Wild and Hyrule watching. 

“Is he alright?” Wild softly asked. 

Time looked over Keijo. There were scars on his shoulders. They were mostly healed, and looked like claw marks. Did Dink leave him in the care of monsters? That disgusting demon! 

“Other than claw marks, he seems alright.” Time carefully said, knowing that some big brother instincts could be triggered. 

“Claw marks?” Wild repeated. Welp. Time trying to be careful didn’t do much. “May I see him?” Wild held his arms out, waiting. Time turned around fully and tried to give Keijo to Wild, but Keijo’s grip on his tunic wouldn’t let up, and his whimpers turned into cries. 

“What did he do to you?” Hyrule whispered, a hand over his mouth. “The poor thing…”

They heard footsteps and distant yelling. 

“I swear,” one of the Fours yelled, most likely Blue, “I need to get a leash for you!”

“That’s silly!” that was probably Red, “We’re the same person Blue, I don’t need one!”

“When I’m split up like this I certainly do!” The two colors rushed past the room. Warrior was chasing after them, but paid more attention to his surroundings, as he stopped where the door to the room they were in was. 

“Guys, you just ran past ‘em!” he yelled to the others.

“Oh?” Blue poked his head into the doorway. “Oh! Red, get your butt over here!”

Frantic footsteps grew closer, and a yell of glee tore through the air. 

“KEIJO!!!!!!!!” 

“Shhhhhhh!” 

“Oh, sorry!” 

Red entered the room, taking all the bundled up joy with him as he speedwalked up to the baby. 

“Hello Jojo!”

Keijo looked at Red, but didn’t loosen his grip. He then looked away, burying his face in Time’s chest. Red’s smile faded a bit. 

“Is he okay?” Red asked, concerned. 

“I think he agrees with everyone else that we want to get out of this place,” Time answered. 

“Should we round up the others, then?” Warrior suggested. “Meet in the boss room so we can leave this place?” 

“That sounds so nice right now,” Wild sighed. 

They walked out of the room and met Vio and Green on the way there. Warrior and Wild left to go find the others, which took around 14 minutes to do. During that time, the Colors re-fused and became Four again after dragging Red away from Keijo. 

Once they were back together with Keijo in Time’s arms, a portal opened up at the front of the room. 

“So,” Wind sighed, “is this it?” 

“I hope not,” Sky said, “I want to say a proper goodbye to all of you first.” 

“Wouldn’t there be nine portals if this were the end though?” thought Legend. “The portals have never led us to different places, after all.” 

“That is true,” Warrior considered, “but you can never be sure.”

Four stepped towards the portal. “Anyone willing to be my buddy, just walk on by.”

Legend caught up to the Smithy and they went through the portal together. The next heroes to go through were Wild and Wind. Then Hyrule and Sky. War and Twilight stayed behind to go in with Time. 

“If this is the end and I don’t see you again,” Time bagan to say, but Twilight interrupted him. 

“Don’t be such a sap!” Twilight gave him a side hug. “We’ll miss you too, Old Man, but I have a feelin’ this isn’t the end just yet.” 

Time hummed. The three heroes stepped through the portal, not knowing what to expect. 

They stood in a familiar field at night, and the light of a familiar barnhouse was in the distance. The rest of the boys were there as well, smiling and just ready to crash. Time looked down at his son, happy to see that he was fairing better now that they were out of that awful dark place. 

They all went to the ranch; some ran, some walked at a fast pace. Once they reached the house, Wild promptly crashed on the couch, and the other boys followed suit, falling asleep in various places. Time was so grateful to have a bed that he could at least lie down on, with Keijo sleeping in his arms. In the morning, it was a very lazy day. No one woke up on time. Breakfast was a very nice affair; Wild had made Time’s favorite meal, and everyone enjoyed the peace and quiet that the ranch offered, finally relieved of the grim burden that Dink had placed upon them. Most of the boys took it easy, while others took solace in the peace of farm labor. Some others spent the day with Keijo, who was more reserved and less smiley than normal, but better than last night. 

“I wonder why Hylia had the gall to give Keijo the triforce,” Legend grimly wondered out loud while he held the small child that was grabbing at his hair. 

“Maybe it was so that he could go through this little adventure without gettin’ harmed?” Twilight theorized. “The historical records say that the Hero of Time came before me, so unless those records were recorded wrong or somethin’ was redacted, Keijo should be clear from hero work.” 

“I sure hope that’s the case,” Time said, “If I find out that Keijo is destined to be a hero, I’m having words with hylia.”

“Not that I blame you,” said Legend, “If my son was destined to become a hero, I’d start a war with that forsaken goddess.”

“Don’t tell Bird Boy though,” Twilight snickered, “he’d take that as blasphemy.” 

“I don’t care what Bird Boy thinks, I’m throwing hands with his girlfriend whether he likes it or not if she steals my kid!”

Both Twilight and Time laughed out loud. It was so nice to hear Time laugh so genuinely like that. 

“Call me when you start that war, Veteran.”

“I’m pretty sure that you’d be a literal Old Man when that happens, Gramps.”

“Bold of you to assume I’m not one already.”

More laughs rang out in the living room. “But in all seriousness,” Time said, “I do hope that this one little excursion is the reason why Keijo has the triforce in the first place.”

“Serving as his own little ‘survive Yo Freak’s plan’ card?” Legend asked. 

“Basically.” 

….

It was at the end of the day after dinner when the next portal opened. There were eight of them this time, and they all knew that it was time to leave. 

  
  


“Goodbye Old Man,” Wind hugged Time tightly. “I’ll miss you so much!” 

Time gave him a sad smile. “I’ll miss you too, Sailor.” 

Wind looked at the bundle in Time’s arms and kissed Keijo’s forehead. “You be good to your dad, okay?”

Keijo cooed and petted Wind’s cheek. He smiled and backed away to let others say goodbye.

“From old knobbley kneed teenager to old grandpa,” Legend joked as the two shook hands, “don’t let Hylia bully you.”

“But don’t give up on her either, Sir!” Sky added in. “You have a good heart.”

Legend ruffled Keijo’s head of strawberry red hair. “Grow up a good kid, Jojo.”

“I’m sure he’ll grow up to be a fine young man. He certainly has the right father as a role model.”

Time couldn’t truly find it in himself to agree with Sky, but he smiled nevertheless.

Hyrule was the next to hug him. “Thank you Sir,” he said, “thank you for being the father I never had.”

“Of course, Traveler,” Time replied. Hyrule kissed Keijo on the nose, earning him a hand grabbing his own nose. Hyrule laughed as he pulled away the little hand that had captured it. “Bye bye, little one."

“I have to say the same,” Wild agreed as he gave Time a hug and Keijo a pat on the cheek, “You were, are, definitely the team dad. Literally. Thanks for listening when we needed someone to confide in.” 

“You were sometimes a bit of a pain,” Warrior admitted, Time scowled, “But I have to say, you were a very fine man to fight alongside with.” They shook hands and hugged. 

“I also have a bit of a confession,” Four stated, “You were fairly intimidating when I first met you. But after traveling together, you’re probably one of the most caring people I know, even if you don’t exactly know how to express it.”

Time chuckled. “I suppose I am a bit guilty for that.”

Twilight was the last one to hug him. It was bittersweet, to say goodbye to a predecessor that was a descendant of his. 

  
  


“Live yer life as the best you can be, Dad,” Twilight whispered, “With no regrets.”

That struck Time in the heart. He held his other son tighter, tears threatening to spill.

“I…” Time didn’t want to say no. “I can’t promise I’ll live without regrets, but I do promise I’ll live as the best me.” he smiled guiltily, and wiped away a tear that fell. Twilight caressed Keijo’s cheek with his finger. “Same goes for you, Jojo. don’t disappoint me.” Keijo cooed in response. 

They all had their own little goodbyes with each other, Legend actually tearing up when saying his goodbyes to Hyrule and Wild being reluctant about letting go of Twilight. There were many tears shed that moment. Soon each hero was facing their own portal, saying their final goodbyes as Time watched them all go, one by one. After all the portals disappeared, he stood there, reminiscing all the things they endured, the good and the bad. He looked down at his son, turned around, and walked back to his home, ready to start this new chapter in his life. 

A certain redhead watched from above with a smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo, I may or may not have based some of the fight between Dink and Time on the fight between Gaster and Betty in Glitchtale: Animosity, where he goes absolutely unhinged and Betty becomes… something else. It also came from something that I’ve played around in my head for a long time and figured out that it fits into this part very well, only with some changes here and there. oh, and before you @ me, it’s pronounced ya-RAW-swaf.  
> I’m guessing that you guys can see Dink’s text, but I’m putting it here anyway:   
> Why would I not? Do you want your child to die in battle?   
> Don’t over exert yourself as you fight, Old Man.  
> You know I always have the last laugh, Time.  
> I ALWAYS HAVE THE LAST LAUGH
> 
> And here’s the FD’s text:   
> You are not afraid anymore, and you are not filled with rage, either.   
> Shall we vanquish this dark entity?


	10. A Happy Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Epilogue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The Epilogue! I actually had a friend check this one over for me, so hopefully this ends well. Have a Magical Day, y’all!

There was always work to do around the ranch, but the humble life of a farmer was perfect for a retired hero. It was a simple life; check off the chores that needed to be done around the house and overall farm, tend to the animals and fields, deliver milk to Castletown, make sure Talon didn’t fall asleep in a weird place, things of that sort. It would seem too much for anyone else, but it was easier when there were ranch hands that were hired helping. Link would have to admit that it was a tad harder when he had a son to watch over, at least in the early years.

Keijo grew up to be a fine young lad. He was reliable and willing to help around the farm, had that streak of mischief that Link used to have as a child, and had the spunky attitude of his late wife, Malon. Her grave was nearby the ranch, buried near a lone tree that was a little ways away from the ranch proper. Keijo made it a habit to visit the grave every day to talk to his mother. He knew the truth, that she wasn’t going to come back, he knew that from a fairly young age. He loved hearing about Malon, what she was like, and why his father loved her so much. He kept a picture of her in his room, finding it a source of comfort, especially when he would have his night terrors. 

The night was never kind to the both of them, it seemed. It broke Link’s heart when he first noticed that Keijo had regular nightmares. He would describe being surrounded by monsters that grabbed at him, clawed at him, held him like they didn’t know what to do with him, and a dark scary figure with red piercing eyes that was always there, watching him. The night terrors weren’t as frequent, but it still struck Link as unfair that his son had to endure such things that caused these nightmares at such a young age. It was a usual occurrence that either Link would stay in Keijo’s room to stand guard and keep him company as the boy slept, or Keijo would go into Link’s room seeking comfort from his father, away from the foreboding dark. 

Keijo would usually ask for a story during times like those. Link would always tell stories from the better parts of his adventures, such as how hard it was to catch a certain fish in the waterhole, finding a skull kid in the lost woods that he was still friends with and playing duets with him, or meeting eight other heroes and the good memories that they shared with him. Most frequently, Link would tell certain stories as morals for his son to learn. Whether it be forgiving your friends, accepting when things end or die, or helping others because it’s the right thing to do, Keijo always kept these lessons close to his heart. 

Link found it a bit difficult to keep an eye on the boy. Especially when he only had one. Keijo was a good helper, but he had a tendency to veer out of view and once done with his tasks, would get sidetracked and find himself in varying situations. At one point Link became worried about his whereabouts and went looking for him, only to find Keijo being bombarded by an army of fairies. They seemed to take a liking to him, and vice versa. It was heartwarming to see him have such a good relationship with such skittish creatures. Another time, Link lost him in Castletown only to find him again talking to a little girl around his age about the milk that Lon Lon Ranch provided, most likely trying to sell it to her. It was adorable; it reminded him of how he and Malon had met. 

It was a joy to watch his son grow up. A joy to teach him what was essential to live, even if it could be hair-tearingly frustrating at times. A joy to tease him about his first crush. Even as a spirit that left the living too early, it was a joy to see his son find happiness of his own, run the ranch and start a family of his own. Over time, the ranch hands started to build homes round the ranch to live closer to their work. It eventually grew into a village that Keijo ran. They had called it Ordon Village. He watched from afar, seeing his son grow up into a parent himself, becoming the father to the new hero. He never did have a need for the Triforce besides defending his family and home. He taught Keijo well when he was young. He didn’t want to teach him to fight, but the rambunctious little boy was insistent, and Link reasoned that he would need to learn self defense. And he used those skills well. 

It was sad to watch Keijo pass on. Then again, he had passed on at an old age peacefully, and Link had died first, so technically Keijo was reuniting with him. But most importantly he got to meet his mother in person. He was there to greet him at the gate, and congratulate his son. He was proud of him, and so was Malon. Seeing Keijo meeting Malon for the first time put a smile on Link’s face. He was reunited with both his wife and his son, and the Afterlife couldn’t get much better than that. Link still waited for Twilight, knowing that he would need help in his quest. He didn’t live without regrets and Twilight had asked, but he did at least ease them earlier. 


	11. Bonus Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This little thing is the thing I talked about in the blurb of chapter 7. It references stuff and has ideas from "The Bapy Chronicles" by Mimiwritesfic and "What’s in a (Last) Name?" by Dontjudgemyfanfichistory, and I didn’t know if I should include it into the story itself, but here it is. And that big jab I talked about? That’s from My Inner Life. I recommend you read the TV Tropes page for it and not the fic itself unless you want to be scarred for life. It’s that infamously bad. Anyway, enjoy!

An idea seemed to strike Four. He smiled mischievously, teals eyes glinting. “I know what to call him now.” 

A beat of silence, waiting for him to answer. 

“Pocket watch.”

Time stared tiredly at Four. “If you start calling him that, then you can call me Time.” 

“Don’t give us any ideas, Old Man.”

Time cursed under his breath. He shouldn’t have said that. 

“We should call him grandfather clock!” Wind smiled

“No, stop.”

“That reminds me, you never told us your last name when we went around sharing them.” 

Time let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t.” He didn't want to say that at the time of filing for citizenship, he didn’t fully understand what a last name was and put ‘time’ as his surname. 

“You gotta have a last name! The only person here that doesn’t have one and has an excuse for it here is the Traveler, what about you? Keijo would need to have a last name, wouldn’t he?” 

“Don’t do this, Wind.” 

“Well, how about this! I’ll give you a last name!”

Oh no.

“Let’s say…. Silverblade!” 

Time sighed in defeat. The others were laughing, Legend especially. Well, at least they were happy, even though it was at his expense. 

“That’s a dumb last name!” Legend wheezed. 

“Hey, be nice!” Twilight chided, “I think it sounds cool!” 

“You don’t know what implies…” Wild said with a haunted look. 

“What’s wrong with it?” 

“You don’t wanna know.” 

Time rolled his eye. “I’d rather stay with Link Time, thank you.” 

Wind looked back at Time skeptically. “Wait, is that actually your last name?” 

Time shrugged. “Is it?”

“It is, isn’t it?” 

“Perhaps.”

“I don’t know, I like Silverblade more,” Twilight said cheekily. 

“NO.” Wild and Time really didn’t like that name for some reason. 


End file.
